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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: wake · bound · root · file · track · straw · stand · spring

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bound — tied together
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bound — certain
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. track — to keep track
  11. root — of a plant
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wake — a trail
  15. file — a document
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. bound — obliged
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. root — the cause
  21. track — a path
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. file — a tool
  24. root — of a word

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