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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rest — a break
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. spell — letters
  10. last — finally
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a song
  15. race — humankind
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rest — what's left
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. spell — magic
  23. rest — what's left
  24. vault — a safe

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