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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. track — a path
  5. club — a group
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. row — to paddle
  8. plane — a tool
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wake — a trail
  11. club — for dancing
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. track — to keep track
  17. club — for golf
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. spring — the season
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. spring — of water
  22. row — a line
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. track — a song

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