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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. track — to keep track
  3. spell — magic
  4. track — a song
  5. spell — letters
  6. current — happening now
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. key — in music
  12. key — the most important part
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. track — a path
  16. key — for a lock
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. net — after costs
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. snap — to click
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. net — for catching

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