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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. track — to keep track
  3. prune — to trim
  4. scale — size or range
  5. plane — a tool
  6. scale — in music
  7. bat — the animal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. face — part of the head
  10. track — a path
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fall — to drop
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. chip — to eat
  18. face — to confront
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. face — to point toward
  21. track — a song
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chip — for betting

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