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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · roll · pound · row · hide · chest · tube · track

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. row — to paddle
  3. track — to keep track
  4. tube — the underground
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. roll — a cake
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. row — a line
  13. tube — a container
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. chest — of your body
  17. track — a song
  18. chest — a box
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. roll — a list
  21. track — a path
  22. mate — a friend
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. hide — to keep secret

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