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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 116 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. land — a country
  3. track — to keep track
  4. fall — to drop
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cell — a phone
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cue — a signal
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. land — to come down
  15. squash — the sport
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. track — a song
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cue — for pool
  21. track — a path
  22. fall — to drop
  23. land — ground
  24. cell — in biology

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