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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cold — an illness
  10. game — wild animals
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. object — to protest
  14. track — a path
  15. object — an aim
  16. perch — the fish
  17. game — a match
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. lean — thin
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. object — a thing
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  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