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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. spell — a short time
  4. chip — for betting
  5. track — to keep track
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. ball — a dance
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spell — magic
  11. track — a path
  12. ball — a great time
  13. chip — to eat
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. track — a song
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pass — a permit
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. ball — a round shape

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