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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 120 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. current — of water
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. clip — a video
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — to come from
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. track — a song
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. clip — to cut
  17. current — happening now
  18. chest — of your body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. track — a path
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. current — electric
  24. arm — part of the body

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