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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. charge — in control
  3. last — finally
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a hat
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. last — final
  10. game — a match
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rock — a stone
  14. capital — money
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. charge — a price
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. last — to go on
  20. track — a song
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wound — an injury
  24. charge — electricity

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