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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. track — a path
  4. track — to keep track
  5. root — the cause
  6. scale — in music
  7. file — a document
  8. row — a line
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a tool
  11. row — to paddle
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. track — a song
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. root — of a plant
  20. scale — size or range
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. root — of a word
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — to sit on

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