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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. kid — child
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. mate — a friend
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. object — to protest
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mate — a partner
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rush — hurry
  13. object — a thing
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. object — an aim
  16. mate — to breed
  17. track — a path
  18. track — to keep track
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rule — a law
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. rule — government

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