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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — to keep track
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cell — a phone
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. mine — for digging
  12. present — there
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. season — of the year
  18. present — the time now
  19. track — a path
  20. stem — to come from
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. present — a gift
  23. season — in sport
  24. straw — a straw man

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