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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. face — to confront
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. pop — to visit
  8. track — to keep track
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. bat — the animal
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. face — part of the head
  14. pop — music
  15. face — to point toward
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. track — a song
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pop — soda
  24. leaves — to go away

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