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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. present — a gift
  3. chest — of your body
  4. roll — a cake
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. row — to paddle
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. row — a line
  11. present — the time now
  12. chip — to eat
  13. track — a path
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. present — there
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. chest — a box
  24. roll — on a roll

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