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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 felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bank — of a river
  4. capital — money
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — to come from
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. last — to go on
  10. bank — for money
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. capital — a city
  13. last — finally
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. last — final
  16. bank — for money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. degree — temperature
  19. track — a path
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. track — a song

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