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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. kid — to tease
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — a group
  5. season — of the year
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. track — a song
  14. lie — to recline
  15. season — in sport
  16. deal — to handle
  17. track — to keep track
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. club — for dancing
  22. kid — child
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. saw — the 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