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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pop — to visit
  4. tear — to rip
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pop — music
  8. roll — a list
  9. wound — an injury
  10. track — a song
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. tear — from crying
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pop — soda
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. toast — bread
  20. roll — a cake
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wound — an injury
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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