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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — a grade
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. stem — to come from
  8. track — a song
  9. band — a ring
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. track — a path
  12. bass — low music
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. band — a music group
  16. dip — to sink
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bass — the fish
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. track — to keep track
  24. prune — to trim

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