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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. last — final
  3. land — ground
  4. last — finally
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. object — to protest
  8. sharp — clever
  9. land — a country
  10. object — an aim
  11. track — a path
  12. last — to go on
  13. pop — music
  14. track — a song
  15. land — to come down
  16. row — to paddle
  17. track — to keep track
  18. ground — the earth
  19. pop — to visit
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pop — soda
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — a position

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