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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cold — not warm
  3. track — a path
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. stock — shares
  6. track — a song
  7. pitch — completely
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stock — goods
  12. staff — employees
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. staff — employees
  16. pop — soda
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. roll — a cake
  19. roll — a list
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — music
  24. pitch — a sports field

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