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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bound — tied together
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. drill — a practice
  7. roll — a list
  8. prune — to trim
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. roll — a cake
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bound — obliged
  16. last — finally
  17. bound — certain
  18. prune — to trim
  19. track — a song
  20. track — to keep track
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. drill — army training
  24. leaves — lets stay

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