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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. track — to keep track
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. track — a path
  5. craft — boats
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. lean — to bend
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. track — a song
  13. tube — a container
  14. lean — thin
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. craft — a skill
  19. ball — a dance
  20. fork — in a road
  21. ball — a great time
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. tube — the underground
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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