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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 120 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: perch · track · swing · wound · root · spell · kid · fine

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — a short time
  6. kid — child
  7. fine — high quality
  8. track — to keep track
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spell — magic
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. swing — music
  16. root — of a plant
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. root — the cause
  19. fine — all right
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. root — of a word
  23. kid — to tease
  24. wound — an injury

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