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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. track — a path
  3. spell — letters
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — a friend
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. board — to get on
  8. track — a song
  9. mark — a grade
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. last — to go on
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spell — a short time
  17. mate — to breed
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. board — a committee
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. spell — magic
  23. cold — not warm
  24. track — to keep track

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