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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. stand — to bear
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. last — final
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wax — to grow
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. hand — help
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. last — to go on
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bore — to drill
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. last — finally
  20. track — a song
  21. bore — to tire
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bay — a horse colour

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