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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cap — of ice
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. land — a country
  6. key — the most important part
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. branch — a division
  10. key — for a lock
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. track — a song
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. land — to come down
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. land — ground
  17. snap — to click
  18. cap — a lid
  19. key — in music
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. cap — a hat
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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