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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. capital — a city
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chair — a leader
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — a song
  22. wake — a trail
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. capital — money

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