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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. rash — a series
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. rest — what's left
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rest — a break
  12. kid — to tease
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rash — hasty
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. kid — child
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. fall — the season
  22. track — a path
  23. branch — a division
  24. stem — to come from

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