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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. land — to come down
  5. spell — magic
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. track — a song
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. date — the fruit
  12. spell — letters
  13. land — ground
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. track — to keep track
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. dip — to sink
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spell — a short time
  24. land — a country

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