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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. mark — a grade
  3. track — to keep track
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a great time
  6. file — a tool
  7. rush — hurry
  8. can — to be able to
  9. shower — to wash
  10. file — a document
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. shower — rain
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. mark — a trace
  17. can — a tin
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. wind — moving air
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. track — a song
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. can — a tin

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