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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 116 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. row — a line
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. track — to keep track
  9. squash — the sport
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. dip — to sink
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. row — to paddle
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. rash — hasty
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rash — a series
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. wake — a trail
  21. squash — to crush
  22. track — a song
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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