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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. object — an aim
  4. track — to keep track
  5. ground — the earth
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. ground — crushed
  9. object — a thing
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. object — to protest
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cell — a phone
  16. track — a song
  17. wake — a trail
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. ground — a position
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cell — in biology
  23. track — a path
  24. patient — a sick person

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