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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. snap — to click
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. track — to keep track
  5. land — ground
  6. club — for dancing
  7. land — a country
  8. cue — a hint
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cue — for pool
  12. track — a song
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. club — for golf
  17. plane — a tool
  18. land — to come down
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. club — a group
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. nail — on a finger

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