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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: board · track · stem · mate · wake · game · snap · row

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. game — wild animals
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. stem — to come from
  5. row — to paddle
  6. game — a match
  7. snap — to click
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wake — a trail
  11. board — a committee
  12. mate — to breed
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. board — to get on
  19. track — a song
  20. row — a line
  21. mate — a friend
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. track — to keep track
  24. mate — a partner

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