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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. track — a path
  3. bass — low music
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. file — a document
  8. roll — a cake
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bass — the fish
  11. roll — a list
  12. mine — for digging
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a song
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. foot — a measure
  24. kid — child

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