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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — to keep track
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. fall — to drop
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wound — an injury
  8. file — a line of people
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. plane — a tool
  11. file — a tool
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. file — a document
  14. wound — an injury
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fall — the season
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. track — a path
  20. fall — to drop
  21. prune — to trim
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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