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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. current — electric
  3. march — music
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bore — to drill
  8. lean — thin
  9. track — a song
  10. chest — of your body
  11. plane — a tool
  12. lean — to bend
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. track — to keep track
  16. current — of water
  17. march — the month
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bore — to tire
  20. march — the month
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. spring — a coil
  23. current — happening now
  24. bore — gave birth

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