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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. spell — magic
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. spring — a coil
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pass — a permit
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. spring — the season
  15. ground — a position
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. ground — crushed
  22. spell — letters
  23. spring — of water
  24. patient — a sick person

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