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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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 — a song
  2. fall — to drop
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bulb — for light
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fall — the season
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fork — in a road
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. row — a line
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. kick — in football
  22. track — a path
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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