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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. rash — a series
  4. staff — employees
  5. rash — hasty
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. track — a song
  9. spell — magic
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. file — a tool
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pass — a permit
  18. file — a document
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. staff — employees
  21. spell — letters
  22. track — a path
  23. staff — a stick
  24. file — a line of people

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