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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 ________________ took off on time.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bass — low music
  6. spell — letters
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. plane — a tool
  9. track — a song
  10. field — a subject
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. spell — a short time
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. spell — magic
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. dip — to sink
  19. track — to keep track
  20. field — farmland
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bass — the fish
  24. field — for sport

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