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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. row — to paddle
  3. band — a music group
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. season — in sport
  6. fall — to drop
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. fall — to drop
  9. track — a song
  10. hand — help
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rest — what's left
  13. row — a line
  14. hand — in cards
  15. track — to keep track
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. track — a path
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rest — what's left
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. rest — a break
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. band — a ring

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