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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. last — to go on
  3. cap — of ice
  4. track — a song
  5. rush — hurry
  6. spell — letters
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. cap — a lid
  9. track — to keep track
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. face — part of the head
  12. last — finally
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pit — a hole
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. face — to confront
  24. last — final

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