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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: file · stem · craft · track · mouse · wind · wound · field

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. file — a document
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. file — a tool
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — boats
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — a subject
  15. file — a line of people
  16. field — for sport
  17. track — a song
  18. field — farmland
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. stem — a stem cell

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