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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: rock · chest · spell · shower · roll · track · stand · mark

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rock — music
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. track — to keep track
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. chest — a box
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spell — magic
  11. track — a path
  12. mark — a trace
  13. rock — a stone
  14. shower — rain
  15. spell — letters
  16. track — a song
  17. stand — to bear
  18. mark — a grade
  19. spell — a short time
  20. roll — a cake
  21. shower — to wash
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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