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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 116 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. wound — an injury
  3. present — the time now
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. track — to keep track
  6. shower — rain
  7. track — a song
  8. face — to confront
  9. staff — employees
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wind — moving air
  12. face — to point toward
  13. track — a path
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. face — part of the head
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — there
  19. shower — to wash
  20. staff — employees
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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