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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. track — a path
  3. hand — help
  4. date — the fruit
  5. net — for catching
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. net — after costs
  8. stem — to come from
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. track — a song
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. track — to keep track
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. net — in sport
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. hand — in cards
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. rash — a series
  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