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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. track — a path
  3. march — music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. track — a song
  6. bound — obliged
  7. track — to keep track
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. degree — temperature
  11. march — the month
  12. bound — certain
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. march — the month
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bound — tied together
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. root — the cause
  24. degree — an amount

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