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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. last — to go on
  4. cold — an illness
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. last — finally
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. track — a song
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. cold — not warm
  16. track — to keep track
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. can — to be able to
  21. track — a path
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. can — a tin
  24. last — final

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