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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. rash — hasty
  3. track — to keep track
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. court — of law
  6. mark — a grade
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rash — a series
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cell — a phone
  15. degree — an amount
  16. track — a path
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. mark — a trace
  20. court — of a king
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. court — for sport
  24. mark — to pay attention

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