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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. stand — to bear
  5. capital — a city
  6. tear — from crying
  7. capital — money
  8. pass — a permit
  9. ball — a dance
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. game — a match
  18. track — a song
  19. ball — a great time
  20. pound — a weight
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. game — wild animals

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