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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. season — of the year
  5. race — humankind
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cold — an illness
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a hole
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. race — a contest
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wake — a trail
  22. season — in sport
  23. cold — not warm
  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