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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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. pass — to succeed
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. track — a song
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. pass — a permit
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cold — an illness
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. track — to keep track
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. foot — a measure

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