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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wake — a trail
  4. track — to keep track
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. craft — a skill
  12. track — a song
  13. mark — a trace
  14. date — the fruit
  15. row — to paddle
  16. track — a path
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. craft — boats
  19. mark — a grade
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. row — a line
  22. rule — government
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. rule — a law

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