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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. band — a ring
  3. sharp — clever
  4. land — to come down
  5. fall — to drop
  6. track — a song
  7. last — to go on
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. band — a music group
  11. land — ground
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mate — a partner
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. fall — the season
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. track — to keep track
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. land — a country
  24. track — a path

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