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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. kid — child
  3. track — a path
  4. club — a group
  5. last — final
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — of ice
  9. last — finally
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cap — a lid
  12. track — to keep track
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. club — for golf
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. perch — the fish
  18. track — a song
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rush — hurry
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. last — to go on
  24. perch — for a bird

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