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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. mate — a friend
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. track — to keep track
  5. land — ground
  6. track — a path
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — army training
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. drill — the tool
  12. mate — a partner
  13. land — a country
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. rock — music
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mate — to breed
  21. rock — a stone
  22. land — to come down
  23. wake — a trail
  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