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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. rule — government
  3. bound — obliged
  4. track — to keep track
  5. land — ground
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. bound — certain
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rule — a law
  14. chair — a leader
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. land — a country
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. land — to come down
  21. track — a song
  22. bound — tied together
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pitcher — a jug

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