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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. present — a gift
  3. fall — the season
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. hand — help
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. track — to keep track
  11. present — the time now
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. present — there
  17. fall — to drop
  18. track — a song
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. tube — a container
  23. bark — to shout
  24. swing — to play on

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