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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cold — an illness
  3. track — to keep track
  4. spell — magic
  5. firm — steady
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bound — tied together
  8. firm — decided
  9. bound — certain
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. chair — a leader
  12. game — a match
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. firm — a company
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. spell — letters
  23. track — a song
  24. spell — a short time

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