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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chest — of your body
  4. track — a path
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. ground — crushed
  7. court — of a king
  8. ground — the earth
  9. stem — to come from
  10. track — to keep track
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ground — a position
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. fork — in a road
  19. chest — a box
  20. fall — the season
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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