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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 120 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. club — for golf
  4. saw — the tool
  5. spring — the season
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. track — a song
  8. stock — goods
  9. spring — of water
  10. saw — the tool
  11. row — to paddle
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — a measure
  14. stock — shares
  15. club — a group
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. row — a line
  18. club — for dancing
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. spring — a coil
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. coach — a trainer

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