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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. spring — of water
  4. last — finally
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. track — to keep track
  7. pit — a hole
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. last — final
  10. land — a country
  11. capital — money
  12. spring — the season
  13. mate — to breed
  14. track — a song
  15. land — to come down
  16. mate — a friend
  17. pit — in a race
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. last — to go on
  21. land — ground
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mate — a partner

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