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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cold — not warm
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cold — an illness
  8. net — in sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. track — to keep track
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. net — for catching
  14. rule — government
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — a weight
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. net — after costs
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. scale — in music

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