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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. tear — to rip
  3. prune — to trim
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. bass — the fish
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. rash — a series
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bass — low music
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. track — to keep track
  15. race — the arms race
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. tear — from crying
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. track — a path
  22. race — humankind
  23. rash — hasty
  24. race — a contest

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