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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pitch — completely
  4. file — a tool
  5. charge — electricity
  6. season — in sport
  7. march — the month
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. march — the month
  12. charge — a price
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. wax — to grow
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. spell — magic
  19. track — a song
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. charge — in control
  23. track — to keep track
  24. march — music

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