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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 116 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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. track — a song
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. track — to keep track
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. root — the cause
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. field — for sport
  13. root — of a plant
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. track — a path
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. bass — low music
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bass — the fish
  22. root — of a word
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. file — a tool

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