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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. swing — music
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. swing — in golf
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. board — to get on
  8. track — a path
  9. ground — a position
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. ground — the earth
  17. track — a song
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. swing — to play on
  21. board — a committee
  22. plane — a tool
  23. ground — crushed
  24. straw — a straw man

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