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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. season — of the year
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. hand — help
  12. drill — army training
  13. season — in sport
  14. drill — a practice
  15. band — a ring
  16. content — happy
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. drill — the tool
  19. track — a song
  20. content — the amount
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. hand — in cards
  24. season — to add flavour

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