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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. land — to come down
  3. plane — a tool
  4. stem — to come from
  5. land — a country
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. field — farmland
  12. track — a path
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. track — to keep track
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. land — ground
  19. field — for sport
  20. pit — a hole
  21. field — a subject
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. kid — to tease

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