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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. face — to confront
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. track — a song
  6. land — a country
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. lean — thin
  9. face — part of the head
  10. land — ground
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. tube — the underground
  13. track — a path
  14. tube — a container
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. branch — a division
  18. land — to come down
  19. face — to point toward
  20. lean — to bend
  21. dip — to sink
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. lean — to rest against

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