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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. lie — to recline
  3. ground — a position
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. march — music
  6. rush — hurry
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bore — to drill
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bore — to tire
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. track — to keep track
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. march — the month
  20. track — a song
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — an illness

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