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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 124 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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. dip — to sink
  4. band — a ring
  5. fall — to drop
  6. date — the fruit
  7. tear — to rip
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. tear — from crying
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. fall — to drop
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. band — a music group
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. key — in music
  18. tear — from crying
  19. key — for a lock
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. fall — the season
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. key — the most important part

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