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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. land — a country
  3. track — to keep track
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. chest — a box
  7. fall — to drop
  8. land — to come down
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. squash — to crush
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fall — the season
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. track — a path
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. squash — the sport
  21. rush — hurry
  22. track — a song
  23. land — ground
  24. prune — to trim

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