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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mug — a cup
  4. firm — steady
  5. clip — for paper
  6. spell — letters
  7. track — a path
  8. shower — rain
  9. present — there
  10. mug — a face
  11. spell — a short time
  12. track — a song
  13. firm — a company
  14. clip — a video
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. mug — to rob
  17. present — the time now
  18. clip — to cut
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. spell — magic
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. present — a gift
  24. firm — decided

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