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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 · scale · ground · hide · saw · rash · land · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rash — a series
  3. ground — a position
  4. track — a song
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. scale — in music
  7. land — to come down
  8. ground — crushed
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chest — of your body
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. ground — the earth
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. track — a path
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. chest — a box
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. land — a country
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. track — to keep track
  23. rash — hasty
  24. land — ground

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