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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stem — to come from
  4. track — a path
  5. rest — a break
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — a law
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. track — to keep track
  15. chest — a box
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. march — music
  23. track — a song
  24. rule — government

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