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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fall — the season
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rash — a series
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fall — to drop
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. track — a song
  15. rash — hasty
  16. bound — obliged
  17. chest — a box
  18. bound — certain
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. rash — on the skin

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