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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. degree — an amount
  3. land — ground
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. track — a path
  8. cold — an illness
  9. present — the time now
  10. land — to come down
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. degree — from a university
  14. present — there
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. present — a gift
  17. land — a country
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — high quality
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. cold — not warm
  23. degree — temperature
  24. track — a song

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