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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cap — a lid
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hand — in cards
  6. season — of the year
  7. track — a song
  8. season — in sport
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. file — a document
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. hand — help
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cap — of ice
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. track — a path
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. file — a tool
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. cap — a hat
  24. wind — to turn a key

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