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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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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. dip — to sink
  3. root — of a word
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. file — a document
  7. press — to push
  8. net — in sport
  9. track — to keep track
  10. root — the cause
  11. net — after costs
  12. snap — to click
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. wound — an injury
  15. track — a song
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. root — of a plant
  18. press — newspapers
  19. file — a tool
  20. press — a publisher
  21. net — for catching
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wound — an injury

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