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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bound — tied together
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. track — a path
  8. bound — certain
  9. wind — moving air
  10. track — a song
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wind — moving air
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. season — in sport
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. last — to go on
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. season — of the year
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. last — finally
  24. track — to keep track

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