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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fall — to drop
  3. kid — to tease
  4. track — a song
  5. cell — in biology
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kid — child
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. stem — to come from
  16. track — to keep track
  17. pound — a weight
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fall — the season
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — all right
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. calf — of the leg

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