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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 are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bound — obliged
  3. rush — hurry
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cap — a hat
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. track — a song
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. track — to keep track
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. season — of the year
  21. cap — of ice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. season — in sport

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