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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. prune — to trim
  3. track — to keep track
  4. spell — magic
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. ball — a great time
  10. branch — a division
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spell — letters
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. track — a song
  20. spell — a short time
  21. ball — a dance
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. ball — a round shape

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