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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. chair — a leader
  3. track — a song
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. season — in sport
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. degree — from a university
  9. kid — child
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. kid — to tease
  13. degree — an amount
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. degree — temperature
  17. tube — a container
  18. pass — a permit
  19. tube — the underground
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. track — to keep track
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pass — to succeed

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