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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. track — to keep track
  3. face — to confront
  4. wind — moving air
  5. firm — steady
  6. scale — size or range
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. track — a song
  10. last — finally
  11. court — of a king
  12. firm — decided
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. row — a line
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wind — moving air
  19. court — of law
  20. last — to go on
  21. court — for sport
  22. face — part of the head
  23. last — final
  24. track — a path

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