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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. track — a song
  6. scale — in music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. track — a path
  9. hand — in cards
  10. mark — a trace
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. hand — help
  13. chip — for betting
  14. board — a committee
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mark — a grade
  18. cold — not warm
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. sharp — clever
  23. chip — to eat
  24. sharp — exactly

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