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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. file — a tool
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stem — to come from
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. track — a song
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. foot — a measure
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. track — a path
  19. file — a document
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wound — an injury
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. coach — a trainer

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