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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. cap — a lid
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. file — a line of people
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. cap — a hat
  10. track — a song
  11. race — the arms race
  12. file — a document
  13. degree — from a university
  14. race — a contest
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. file — a tool
  18. cap — of ice
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. game — wild animals
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. race — humankind
  23. game — a match
  24. degree — temperature

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