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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. roll — a cake
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. track — a path
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mark — a grade
  13. season — in sport
  14. track — to keep track
  15. scale — in music
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bear — the animal
  19. roll — a list
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mark — a trace
  23. scale — size or range
  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