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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. season — in sport
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. toast — bread
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. season — of the year
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cold — an illness
  15. sharp — clever
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. scale — in music
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. track — a song
  21. scale — size or range
  22. track — a path
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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