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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. track — a song
  3. track — a path
  4. track — to keep track
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. row — a line
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. file — a line of people
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. board — a committee
  16. file — a tool
  17. board — to get on
  18. file — a document
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bound — certain
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — for digging
  23. row — to paddle
  24. arm — part of the body

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