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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 124 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. track — to keep track
  3. file — a document
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cap — a hat
  6. track — a song
  7. cap — a lid
  8. file — a line of people
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cap — of ice
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. file — a tool
  15. row — to paddle
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  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