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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fall — to drop
  5. march — music
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. fall — the season
  11. squash — the sport
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. track — a path
  17. squash — to crush
  18. lean — to bend
  19. track — a song
  20. lean — thin
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. pop — soda
  23. wound — an injury
  24. lean — to rest against

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