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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 116 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. prune — to trim
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. pit — a hole
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. club — a group
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pit — in a race
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. wind — moving air
  15. track — a song
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. club — for golf
  24. pound — to hit hard

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