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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. track — a path
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rule — government
  10. track — a song
  11. fork — in a road
  12. rash — a series
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. spell — letters
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rule — a law
  24. fork — a garden tool

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