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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · spring · tear · track · staff · pass · file · foot

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a song
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. staff — a stick
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. staff — employees
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. staff — employees
  11. tear — from crying
  12. file — a document
  13. tear — from crying
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. file — a tool
  16. foot — a measure
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pass — a permit
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. track — a path
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. spring — a coil
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. file — a line of people

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