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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: coach · foot · bark · game · track · lean · file · row

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. row — a line
  3. file — a tool
  4. bark — to shout
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. game — wild animals
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. lean — to bend
  9. foot — a measure
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. file — a line of people
  12. track — a path
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. game — a match
  16. lean — thin
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. row — to paddle
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. file — a document
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. lean — to rest against

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