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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.

Make a worksheet

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 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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. march — the month
  7. degree — an amount
  8. track — a song
  9. march — the month
  10. saw — the tool
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. track — to keep track
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. degree — from a university
  16. march — music
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. leaves — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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