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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: perch · bass · rule · lie · track · stick · stem · row

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. rule — government
  3. bass — low music
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. lie — to recline
  10. perch — the fish
  11. row — a line
  12. rule — a law
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. row — to paddle
  18. track — a song
  19. bass — the fish
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. track — a path
  24. perch — for a bird

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