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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 120 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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. tube — the underground
  5. shower — to wash
  6. track — a path
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. track — a song
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. tube — a container
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wound — an injury
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stock — shares
  17. wound — an injury
  18. snap — to click
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. stock — goods
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. shower — rain

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