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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. track — to keep track
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. object — to protest
  7. march — music
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fall — the season
  10. wake — a trail
  11. track — a path
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. fall — to drop
  15. march — the month
  16. last — finally
  17. object — an aim
  18. track — a song
  19. object — a thing
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. march — the month
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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