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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a song
  3. spring — the season
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. scale — size or range
  6. land — ground
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. current — of water
  10. track — a path
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. spring — a coil
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rule — a law
  16. land — to come down
  17. current — electric
  18. land — a country
  19. pass — a permit
  20. scale — in music
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. spring — of water
  23. current — happening now
  24. rule — government

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