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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. track — a path
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. land — to come down
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chip — for betting
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chip — to eat
  13. track — a song
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. land — ground
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bat — the animal
  19. track — to keep track
  20. land — a country
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. prune — to trim
  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