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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 124 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. hand — help
  3. wind — moving air
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. firm — steady
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pass — a permit
  8. track — a song
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. firm — decided
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. firm — a company
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. track — a path
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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