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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bank — for money
  4. mine — for digging
  5. file — a tool
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. swing — in golf
  10. suit — clothes
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — music
  13. game — wild animals
  14. track — to keep track
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bank — for money
  17. suit — to fit
  18. bank — of a river
  19. game — a match
  20. file — a document
  21. track — a song
  22. capital — money
  23. suit — in cards
  24. mine — an explosive

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