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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. track — a song
  3. cold — not warm
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — the arms race
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. track — a path
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. charge — a price
  10. degree — an amount
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cold — an illness
  17. charge — in control
  18. race — humankind
  19. swing — music
  20. charge — electricity
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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