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

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. firm — steady
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cell — in biology
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pitch — completely
  9. season — of the year
  10. track — to keep track
  11. stem — to come from
  12. season — in sport
  13. root — of a word
  14. cell — a phone
  15. track — a song
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. firm — decided
  18. mate — a friend
  19. firm — a company
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. root — the cause
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. track — a path

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