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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. swing — to play on
  3. land — to come down
  4. swing — in golf
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. track — a song
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. track — a path
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. land — a country
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. swing — music
  24. land — ground

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