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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. chair — a leader
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. hand — help
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. track — a path
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. capital — a city
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. tear — from crying
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. tear — to rip
  23. hand — in cards
  24. leaves — of a tree

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