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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. track — a song
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. march — music
  5. track — to keep track
  6. wake — a trail
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — hasty
  9. plane — a tool
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. march — the month
  14. track — a path
  15. row — a line
  16. content — happy
  17. march — the month
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. row — to paddle
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. content — the amount
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. trunk — of a tree

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