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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. spell — a short time
  5. ground — a position
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bore — to drill
  8. present — a gift
  9. season — in sport
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cold — not warm
  12. spell — magic
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. season — of the year
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. spell — letters
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — there
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bore — to tire
  24. deal — an agreement

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