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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: track · bay · toast · spring · wound · tube · march · present

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. present — the time now
  2. track — a path
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. wound — an injury
  5. present — a gift
  6. track — to keep track
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. toast — bread
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tube — the underground
  13. march — the month
  14. spring — a coil
  15. present — there
  16. spring — of water
  17. march — the month
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — a container
  21. spring — the season
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. march — music
  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