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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — a position
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. race — the arms race
  9. track — a path
  10. board — a committee
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. race — humankind
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. ground — the earth
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. dip — to sink
  19. track — a song
  20. race — a contest
  21. cap — of ice
  22. foot — a measure
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — to get on

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