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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. ground — crushed
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. track — to keep track
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. ground — the earth
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. ball — a dance
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. ground — a position
  15. track — a song
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. row — to paddle
  21. ball — a great time
  22. track — a path
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. leaves — to go away

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