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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. track — a path
  4. swing — to play on
  5. degree — from a university
  6. track — to keep track
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — the cause
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bound — obliged
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wake — a trail
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. swing — music
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. degree — an amount
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. degree — temperature

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