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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. track — a song
  4. bound — certain
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bound — tied together
  7. scale — size or range
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. track — a path
  11. tear — from crying
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. scale — in music
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. squash — to crush
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. row — a line
  21. bound — obliged
  22. squash — the sport
  23. kick — in football
  24. row — to paddle

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