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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. track — a song
  4. file — a line of people
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. track — a path
  18. track — to keep track

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