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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. ground — a position
  3. track — to keep track
  4. pit — in a race
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cold — not warm
  8. face — to confront
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. track — a path
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ground — crushed
  15. charge — electricity
  16. ground — the earth
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. charge — a price
  19. track — a song
  20. mark — a trace
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. charge — in control
  23. mark — a grade
  24. face — to point toward

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