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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. object — to protest
  3. band — a music group
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. file — a document
  6. rest — a break
  7. object — an aim
  8. root — the cause
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. root — of a plant
  12. current — happening now
  13. track — a path
  14. rest — what's left
  15. file — a tool
  16. band — a ring
  17. file — a line of people
  18. root — of a word
  19. current — electric
  20. track — a song
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. current — of water
  23. object — a thing
  24. rest — what's left

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