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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. date — the fruit
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — not warm
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bulb — for light
  11. foot — a measure
  12. bulb — for light
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — in music
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. fall — the season
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. saw — the tool
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. cold — an illness
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bulb — of a plant

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