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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. track — a path
  3. bass — the fish
  4. track — to keep track
  5. tear — from crying
  6. march — the month
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. club — a group
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — a coil
  13. club — for dancing
  14. march — music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. spring — of water
  17. chip — to eat
  18. march — the month
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bass — low music
  22. club — for golf
  23. track — a song
  24. spring — the season

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