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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 120 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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. track — a song
  4. chest — a box
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. track — to keep track
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pitch — completely
  12. snap — to click
  13. chest — of your body
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. file — a line of people
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. fine — all right

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