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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. rash — hasty
  6. board — to get on
  7. track — a path
  8. object — to protest
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. track — a song
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. object — an aim
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. object — a thing
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. rash — a series
  21. wind — moving air
  22. capital — money
  23. board — a committee
  24. wind — moving air

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