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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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. swing — to play on
  5. spring — the season
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. squash — the sport
  12. last — to go on
  13. spring — of water
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. last — final
  16. swing — music
  17. squash — to crush
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. swing — in golf
  22. last — finally
  23. track — a song
  24. racket — for tennis

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