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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. track — to keep track
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fork — in a road
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wake — a trail
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. track — a song
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pit — in a race
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — a container
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. prune — to trim

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