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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  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 path
  2. bound — tied together
  3. tear — to rip
  4. root — the cause
  5. track — a song
  6. root — of a plant
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. track — to keep track
  9. ball — a great time
  10. swing — music
  11. cold — not warm
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — an illness
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. root — of a word
  19. bound — obliged
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. ball — a dance
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bound — certain
  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