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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bound — tied together
  4. track — a song
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bound — certain
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bound — obliged
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. track — a path

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