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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: rule · bat · row · key · squash · track · lean · fall

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. key — for a lock
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rule — government
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. row — a line
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lean — thin
  12. squash — to crush
  13. key — the most important part
  14. squash — the sport
  15. track — a song
  16. rule — a law
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. key — in music
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bat — in an idiom

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