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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. track — to keep track
  5. stock — goods
  6. chest — of your body
  7. game — a match
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. track — a path
  13. stock — shares
  14. drill — army training
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. game — wild animals
  17. drill — the tool
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. kid — child
  20. track — a song
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. drill — a practice
  24. kid — to tease

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