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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. current — happening now
  4. track — to keep track
  5. row — a line
  6. stock — shares
  7. current — electric
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. row — to paddle
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. last — to go on
  15. kid — child
  16. last — final
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. stock — goods
  19. current — of water
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. track — a song
  24. last — finally

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