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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. last — final
  3. track — to keep track
  4. band — a ring
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. march — the month
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. object — an aim
  9. band — a music group
  10. object — to protest
  11. chair — a leader
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. object — a thing
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. last — to go on
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. last — finally
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. track — a song

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