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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 120 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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. capital — money
  4. spell — a short time
  5. track — to keep track
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. spring — of water
  8. row — to paddle
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. spell — magic
  11. capital — a city
  12. track — a song
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. row — a line
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. spring — the season
  19. kid — child
  20. spring — a coil
  21. kid — to tease
  22. spell — letters
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. pound — a weight

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