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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 116 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. track — a song
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. band — a music group
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. swing — in golf
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. swing — to play on
  13. band — a ring
  14. swing — music
  15. root — of a plant
  16. wake — a trail
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. stem — to come from
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. root — of a word

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