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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. shower — rain
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. track — to keep track
  6. chair — a leader
  7. spring — the season
  8. toast — bread
  9. net — after costs
  10. wake — a trail
  11. race — the arms race
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. race — humankind
  15. spring — of water
  16. net — in sport
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. race — a contest
  20. track — a song
  21. net — for catching
  22. shower — to wash
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. shower — a meteor shower

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com