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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 120 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bear — the animal
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. snap — to click
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. track — a path
  12. plane — a tool
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cold — not warm
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. track — a song
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. cold — an illness
  24. nail — for a hammer

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