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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mug — a cup
  3. deal — to handle
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. track — a song
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. file — a tool
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. file — a line of people
  11. last — to go on
  12. rule — government
  13. ball — a great time
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. ball — a dance
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a face
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. track — to keep track
  21. file — a document
  22. last — finally
  23. track — a path
  24. rule — a law

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