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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tear — from crying
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. shower — rain
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. tube — the underground
  9. board — a committee
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. tear — to rip
  13. net — for catching
  14. tube — a container
  15. net — in sport
  16. land — ground
  17. board — to get on
  18. shower — to wash
  19. track — a song
  20. net — after costs
  21. track — a path
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. branch — a division

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