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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. capital — a city
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. bank — for money
  7. present — the time now
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — letters
  13. capital — money
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bank — for money
  16. present — there
  17. race — a contest
  18. track — a song
  19. race — humankind
  20. bank — of a river
  21. track — a path
  22. present — a gift
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. race — the arms race

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