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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. chair — a leader
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. wax — to grow
  6. track — to keep track
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rest — what's left
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rest — a break
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. rest — what's left
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. land — a country
  24. mine — an explosive

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