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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. scale — in music
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. bulb — for light
  7. tear — from crying
  8. plane — a tool
  9. tear — from crying
  10. track — to keep track
  11. spell — magic
  12. cue — a hint
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. spell — letters
  16. cue — for pool
  17. tear — to rip
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cue — a signal
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. spell — a short time
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. track — a song

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