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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mine — for digging
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. file — a tool
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. rock — a stone
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lie — to recline
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. capital — money
  13. track — a song
  14. capital — a city
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. track — a path
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. plane — a tool

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