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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rest — what's left
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. track — to keep track
  8. ball — a dance
  9. swing — music
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. swing — to play on
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pop — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. rest — a break
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a great time
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — soda
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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