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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. present — there
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mate — a partner
  7. fall — to drop
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cap — a lid
  12. file — a line of people
  13. shower — rain
  14. present — the time now
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. file — a document
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. cap — a hat
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. present — a gift
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. file — a tool

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