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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. land — to come down
  3. march — the month
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. lie — to recline
  6. stock — goods
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chair — a leader
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. land — ground
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. tube — a container
  15. track — a song
  16. land — a country
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. track — a path
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. march — the month
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. tube — the underground
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. march — music

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