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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chair — a leader
  5. kid — child
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. lie — to recline
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. track — a path
  18. fork — in a road
  19. track — a song
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. foot — a measure
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. fork — to eat with

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