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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. track — to keep track
  3. key — the most important part
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pound — a weight
  10. track — a path
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. fall — the season
  14. tube — the underground
  15. fall — to drop
  16. prune — to trim
  17. track — a song
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. key — in music
  20. fall — to drop
  21. key — for a lock
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tear — from crying

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