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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. fall — the season
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. spring — a coil
  8. foot — a measure
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. fall — to drop
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. track — to keep track
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. mine — for digging
  19. craft — boats
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. lean — thin
  24. track — a song

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