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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. track — a path
  3. ground — the earth
  4. season — in sport
  5. cap — of ice
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. track — to keep track
  8. race — humankind
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. hand — help
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pound — a weight
  13. track — a song
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cap — a hat
  16. spell — magic
  17. race — the arms race
  18. season — of the year
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cap — a lid
  21. spell — a short time
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. ground — a position
  24. race — a contest

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