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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. land — to come down
  3. prune — to trim
  4. land — ground
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rest — what's left
  9. race — humankind
  10. tube — a container
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. race — the arms race
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. land — a country
  15. deal — to handle
  16. tube — the underground
  17. track — to keep track
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. race — a contest
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. track — a song

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