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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. ball — a dance
  4. tube — a container
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. season — of the year
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. track — a song
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. present — there
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. present — the time now
  21. wake — a trail
  22. present — a gift
  23. tube — the underground
  24. row — to paddle

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