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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fall — the season
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. track — a song
  5. fall — to drop
  6. track — a path
  7. lean — thin
  8. file — a tool
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fall — to drop
  11. file — a document
  12. lean — to bend
  13. track — to keep track
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. spring — the season
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bear — the animal
  19. squash — to crush
  20. spring — a coil
  21. march — the month
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. spring — of water

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