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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. march — the month
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. march — the month
  8. club — for golf
  9. track — to keep track
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. track — a song
  14. march — music
  15. spring — the season
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. spring — a coil
  19. club — a group
  20. fine — high quality
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. fine — all right
  23. bark — to shout
  24. spring — of water

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