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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. season — of the year
  7. track — a song
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. bore — to tire
  11. field — for sport
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bore — to drill
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. field — a subject
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. snap — to click
  20. track — a path
  21. season — in sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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