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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. file — a tool
  4. current — of water
  5. spell — magic
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bound — certain
  8. track — a song
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wound — an injury
  14. file — a document
  15. spell — letters
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. current — happening now
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — obliged
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wound — an injury
  24. current — electric

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