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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. sharp — clever
  3. object — to protest
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — the most important part
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. track — a song
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. object — an aim
  13. key — in music
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. object — a thing
  18. track — a path

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