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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. land — to come down
  3. row — to paddle
  4. mine — for digging
  5. saw — the tool
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. saw — the tool
  9. land — a country
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pop — soda
  12. mate — a friend
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. pop — music
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. track — a path
  17. track — a song
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. land — ground
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. mate — a partner
  22. tube — the underground
  23. pop — to visit
  24. row — a line

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