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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. land — to come down
  3. prune — to trim
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. land — a country
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bound — certain
  9. track — a song
  10. pop — music
  11. spell — letters
  12. net — after costs
  13. land — ground
  14. pop — soda
  15. net — for catching
  16. pop — to visit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bound — tied together
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bound — obliged
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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