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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 116 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. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. march — the month
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. track — a song
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. ground — crushed
  9. march — the month
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. plane — a tool
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. saw — the tool
  14. ground — a position
  15. saw — the tool
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cell — a phone
  18. march — music
  19. ground — the earth
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. wind — moving air
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cell — in biology

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