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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — final
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. track — a song
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. last — finally
  8. track — to keep track
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. band — a ring
  14. key — in music
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wound — an injury
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. season — in sport
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. last — to go on
  22. band — a music group
  23. season — of the year
  24. key — for a lock

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