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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 116 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cold — an illness
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. stem — to come from
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. plane — a tool
  15. track — to keep track
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. track — a song
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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