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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. track — a song
  3. fall — to drop
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bound — obliged
  6. track — to keep track
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wake — a trail
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tear — to rip
  11. rest — a break
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. fall — the season
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rest — what's left
  16. ball — a dance
  17. tear — from crying
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. track — a path
  23. ball — a great time
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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