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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ball — a dance
  3. can — a tin
  4. root — of a word
  5. can — to be able to
  6. track — to keep track
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wound — an injury
  9. root — of a plant
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. track — a song
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. chest — of your body
  18. can — a tin
  19. foot — a measure
  20. root — the cause
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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