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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stand — to bear
  5. bank — for money
  6. prune — to trim
  7. degree — from a university
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bank — for money
  12. degree — an amount
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. track — a song
  15. cold — an illness
  16. track — a path
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. row — a line
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bank — of a river
  24. stand — for spectators

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