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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. track — a path
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. root — of a plant
  5. bound — tied together
  6. lean — to bend
  7. file — a document
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. lean — thin
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. track — to keep track
  13. root — the cause
  14. bound — certain
  15. file — a tool
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. game — a match
  18. track — a song
  19. scale — in music
  20. bound — obliged
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. root — of a word
  23. scale — size or range
  24. game — wild animals

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