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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · rest · pop · season · present · tear · track · ball

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. tear — to rip
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — there
  5. pop — music
  6. track — a song
  7. rest — what's left
  8. present — a gift
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — a break
  12. pop — to visit
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — in sport
  15. ball — a dance
  16. land — to come down
  17. pop — soda
  18. track — a path
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. rest — what's left
  22. tear — from crying
  23. track — to keep track
  24. ball — a great time

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