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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. deal — to handle
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. track — to keep track
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. track — a path
  16. field — farmland
  17. clip — a video
  18. cell — in biology
  19. track — a song
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. deal — an agreement

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