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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — to come from
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rush — hurry
  16. track — a path
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pitch — completely
  20. track — a song
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mate — to breed
  24. pitch — a sports field

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