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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. track — a song
  3. staff — employees
  4. chest — a box
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stem — to come from
  8. track — a path
  9. swing — in golf
  10. mine — for digging
  11. swing — to play on
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. track — to keep track
  14. rash — a series
  15. staff — employees
  16. land — to come down
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. land — ground
  19. staff — a stick
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. rash — hasty
  22. swing — music
  23. chest — of your body
  24. land — a country

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