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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. row — a line
  4. stem — to come from
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. track — a path
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. track — a song
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. foot — a measure
  13. toast — bread
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wake — a trail
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. kid — child
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. track — to keep track
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. row — to paddle
  24. kid — to tease

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