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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. face — to point toward
  3. track — to keep track
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wound — an injury
  7. roll — a cake
  8. roll — a list
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. face — part of the head
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. face — to confront
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fall — the season
  24. track — a song

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