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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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 — a path
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. sharp — clever
  4. land — a country
  5. file — a tool
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. land — ground
  8. face — to confront
  9. pit — in a race
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. file — a document
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. face — to point toward
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. pit — a hole
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. land — to come down
  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