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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 120 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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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: fall · rash · track · kid · wake · root · ruler · bass

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bass — low music
  9. rash — hasty
  10. fall — the season
  11. root — the cause
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. track — a path
  17. wake — a trail
  18. rash — a series
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. track — a song
  23. root — of a word
  24. ruler — a monarch

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