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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. ground — a position
  6. rock — music
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. last — finally
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. rock — a stone
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. track — a song
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. sharp — clever
  23. hand — help
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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