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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. firm — a company
  3. saw — the tool
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. capital — a city
  11. cold — not warm
  12. land — a country
  13. capital — money
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. firm — decided
  17. land — ground
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. firm — steady
  21. land — to come down
  22. track — a path
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. track — a song

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