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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. face — to confront
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. ball — a dance
  5. rush — hurry
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. staff — employees
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. spring — the season
  11. staff — employees
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. face — to point toward
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. file — a tool
  18. staff — a stick
  19. spring — of water
  20. track — a path
  21. spring — a coil
  22. track — a song
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. face — part of the head

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