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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. season — in sport
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. track — a path
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tear — to rip
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. track — to keep track
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. pit — in a race
  20. season — of the year
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. season — to add flavour

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