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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. track — a path
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pit — in a race
  6. cell — a phone
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bound — tied together
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bound — obliged
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. ball — a great time
  14. cell — in biology
  15. track — a song
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bound — certain
  23. row — a line
  24. cell — in a prison

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