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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. present — there
  5. race — a contest
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. track — to keep track
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. track — a song
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. race — the arms race
  18. present — the time now
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. present — a gift
  22. saw — the tool
  23. race — humankind
  24. hand — help

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