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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rest — what's left
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. prune — to trim
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. land — a country
  15. prune — to trim
  16. saw — the tool
  17. track — a path
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. saw — the tool
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. rest — a break
  23. rest — what's left
  24. coach — a trainer

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