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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. track — to keep track
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chair — a leader
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cap — a lid
  13. file — a document
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cap — a hat
  17. file — a line of people
  18. track — a song
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. file — a tool
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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