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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. stock — goods
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. plane — a tool
  7. fall — to drop
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. fall — the season
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. track — to keep track
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stem — to come from
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. track — a path
  22. foot — a measure
  23. fall — to drop
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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