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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 116 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: row · track · land · game · patient · craft · file · saw

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. land — to come down
  3. row — to paddle
  4. track — a path
  5. game — a match
  6. craft — boats
  7. saw — the tool
  8. file — a document
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. land — a country
  11. saw — the tool
  12. row — a line
  13. land — ground
  14. track — a song
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. craft — a skill
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. track — to keep track

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