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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. cold — not warm
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chest — of your body
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. foot — a measure
  18. cold — an illness
  19. track — a song
  20. track — a path
  21. swing — music
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. prune — to trim

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