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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: chest · track · hide · wind · jam · tear · saw · scale

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. chest — of your body
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. track — a path
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chest — a box
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tear — from crying
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. scale — in music
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. track — to keep track
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. chest — of your body

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