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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. board — a committee
  6. shower — rain
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pop — to visit
  10. shower — to wash
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. net — for catching
  17. pop — soda
  18. board — to get on
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. stem — to come from
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pop — music

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