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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. pop — soda
  3. wind — moving air
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chest — a box
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. drill — the tool
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pop — to visit
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. track — a path
  16. wake — a trail
  17. pop — music
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. chest — of your body
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. stem — to come from

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