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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. game — a match
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mine — for digging
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. track — a song
  11. branch — a division
  12. rest — what's left
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wind — moving air
  16. prune — to trim
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. rest — a break
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wind — moving air
  23. track — a path
  24. game — a kind of play

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