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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. track — a path
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. mate — a partner
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. file — a document
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wake — a trail
  11. mate — to breed
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rush — hurry
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. degree — an amount
  19. mate — a friend
  20. file — a tool
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rush — a thrill

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