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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. saw — the tool
  5. capital — a city
  6. track — a song
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. saw — the tool
  10. roll — a cake
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. court — of law
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. race — humankind
  15. court — for sport
  16. race — a contest
  17. capital — money
  18. race — the arms race
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. track — to keep track
  21. pound — a weight
  22. stem — to come from
  23. roll — a list
  24. court — of a king

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