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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. track — a path
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. row — to paddle
  6. land — to come down
  7. bore — to drill
  8. stem — to come from
  9. object — an aim
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. file — a tool
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. file — a document
  15. bore — to tire
  16. land — a country
  17. row — a line
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. track — a song
  20. file — a line of people
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — to protest
  23. rash — hasty
  24. track — to keep track

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