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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: track · plane · file · straw · wake · row · wind · temple

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wake — a trail
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. wind — moving air
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. wind — moving air
  11. plane — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. row — to paddle
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. row — a line
  23. file — a line of people
  24. straw — dry grass

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