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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 120 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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. foot — a measure
  3. pop — soda
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — a thing
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pop — to visit
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bark — to shout
  11. face — to confront
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. face — part of the head
  14. track — a path
  15. pop — music
  16. track — a song
  17. object — an aim
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rule — a law
  20. band — a ring
  21. rule — government
  22. face — to point toward
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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