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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. chair — a leader
  3. file — a line of people
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. track — to keep track
  8. current — electric
  9. rush — hurry
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. rash — hasty
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. file — a document
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. file — a tool
  17. track — a song
  18. current — of water
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rash — a series
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. current — happening now

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