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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bank — of a river
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bank — for money
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bank — for money
  7. track — a song
  8. fall — to drop
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. track — a path
  12. ground — a position
  13. file — a line of people
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rule — a law
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. fall — the season
  21. rule — government
  22. file — a tool
  23. ground — crushed
  24. file — a document

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