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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. season — in sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. object — to protest
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chip — for betting
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tear — from crying
  11. track — a path
  12. track — a song
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. object — a thing
  17. tear — to rip
  18. object — an aim
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. chip — to eat
  22. season — of the year
  23. deal — to handle
  24. coach — a trainer

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