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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. row — a line
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. track — to keep track
  7. deal — to handle
  8. rock — a stone
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. row — to paddle
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. file — a tool
  14. rock — music
  15. file — a document
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. track — a song
  18. hand — help
  19. plane — a tool
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. file — a line of people
  23. hand — in cards
  24. racket — a loud noise

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