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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. track — a song
  3. row — a line
  4. face — to confront
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. face — part of the head
  7. kid — child
  8. branch — a division
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. row — to paddle
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. face — to point toward
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. object — an aim
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. track — to keep track
  20. object — a thing
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. date — the fruit
  23. track — a path
  24. bowl — a dish

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