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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. kid — to tease
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rest — what's left
  10. race — a contest
  11. fine — high quality
  12. row — a line
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. race — humankind
  18. track — a song
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mine — for digging
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. fine — all right
  23. track — to keep track
  24. race — the arms race

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