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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: wind · season · stick · game · face · row · track · prune

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. face — part of the head
  3. track — a song
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. season — in sport
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. row — to paddle
  8. wind — moving air
  9. season — of the year
  10. track — to keep track
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — moving air
  14. game — a match
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. face — to confront
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. face — to point toward
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. game — wild animals
  23. row — a line
  24. prune — to trim

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