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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chest — of your body
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. degree — an amount
  16. deal — to handle
  17. chest — a box
  18. track — a song
  19. chest — of your body
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to confront
  22. track — a path
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. face — to point toward

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