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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rule — government
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. track — to keep track
  5. mate — a partner
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. track — a song
  8. season — in sport
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. chip — for betting
  17. season — of the year
  18. track — a path
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. mate — to breed

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