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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. track — to keep track
  4. stock — shares
  5. land — a country
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. spell — letters
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. stock — goods
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. spell — magic
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. deal — to handle
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. track — a song
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. spell — a short time
  24. fan — a supporter

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