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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ball — a great time
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. track — a song
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. ball — a dance
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rush — hurry
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. pit — a hole
  17. file — a document
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. track — to keep track
  20. file — a tool
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pitcher — a jug

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