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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: rest · track · rash · pound · file · wind · foot · current

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. track — to keep track
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wind — moving air
  6. track — a song
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. rest — what's left
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. pound — a weight
  12. file — a tool
  13. track — a path
  14. file — a document
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rash — a series
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. file — a line of people
  20. current — of water
  21. current — electric
  22. rest — a break
  23. current — happening now
  24. rash — on the skin

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