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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. land — to come down
  5. season — in sport
  6. track — to keep track
  7. season — of the year
  8. spring — a coil
  9. row — a line
  10. spring — the season
  11. track — a song
  12. firm — a company
  13. row — to paddle
  14. firm — steady
  15. spring — of water
  16. firm — decided
  17. charge — in control
  18. charge — electricity
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. land — ground
  22. charge — a price
  23. spell — a short time
  24. land — a country

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