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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. face — to confront
  3. drill — the tool
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. drill — army training
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. last — to go on
  9. chip — to eat
  10. last — finally
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bass — the fish
  14. file — a tool
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. drill — a practice
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. file — a line of people
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bass — low music
  22. last — final
  23. file — a document
  24. track — a song

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