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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. present — the time now
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fall — to drop
  5. season — in sport
  6. capital — money
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. capital — a city
  9. present — there
  10. present — a gift
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tear — to rip
  18. track — a song
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. track — a path
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. mouse — for a computer

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