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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 124 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. spell — a short time
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. spell — letters
  6. lean — to bend
  7. face — to confront
  8. ball — a great time
  9. spell — magic
  10. file — a line of people
  11. track — a song
  12. file — a document
  13. cap — a lid
  14. file — a tool
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. cap — a hat
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. face — part of the head
  19. track — to keep track
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cap — of ice
  22. face — to point toward
  23. branch — a division
  24. ball — a round shape

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