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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rash · track · lean · board · spell · mate · pitcher · last

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. board — a committee
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mate — to breed
  9. rash — hasty
  10. lean — to bend
  11. board — to get on
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. spell — a short time
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. track — a song
  16. spell — letters
  17. last — finally
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. spell — magic
  20. mate — a partner
  21. rash — a series
  22. mate — a friend
  23. lean — thin
  24. board — a flat piece

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