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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. track — a path
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to click
  5. bank — of a river
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. net — for catching
  8. swing — in golf
  9. net — after costs
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. net — in sport
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bank — for money
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. track — a song
  16. swing — to play on
  17. band — a ring
  18. row — to paddle
  19. swing — music
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. stem — to come from
  22. band — a music group
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bank — for money

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