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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ball — a great time
  4. track — a path
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rest — what's left
  7. track — a song
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rest — a break
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rest — what's left
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. ball — a dance
  17. face — to confront
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. stem — to come from
  24. hide — animal skin

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