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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. game — wild animals
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. prune — to trim
  8. last — to go on
  9. cell — a phone
  10. last — finally
  11. shower — rain
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. shower — to wash
  15. track — a song
  16. game — a match
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. track — a path
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. cell — in biology
  24. last — final

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