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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. squash — to crush
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. cue — a signal
  6. last — to go on
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cue — a hint
  9. track — to keep track
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — the sport
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mine — for digging
  17. last — final
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. last — finally
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cue — for pool

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