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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cell — in biology
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wake — a trail
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cell — a phone
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — rain
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. track — a path
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a song
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. kid — child
  22. stem — to come from
  23. shower — to wash
  24. fan — a supporter

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