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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. club — for golf
  3. track — a song
  4. tear — to rip
  5. key — in music
  6. club — a group
  7. track — a path
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cold — not warm
  10. last — final
  11. pit — in a race
  12. club — for dancing
  13. last — finally
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. game — wild animals
  16. last — to go on
  17. pit — a hole
  18. game — a match
  19. key — for a lock
  20. tear — from crying
  21. track — to keep track
  22. key — the most important part
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. tear — from crying

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