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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. ground — a position
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — tied together
  9. track — a song
  10. march — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. craft — a skill
  14. track — to keep track
  15. prune — to trim
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. march — the month
  18. craft — boats
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cell — in biology
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bound — certain

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