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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 116 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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. season — of the year
  4. sharp — clever
  5. track — a song
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. staff — a stick
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. track — to keep track
  10. staff — employees
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. stem — to come from
  13. season — in sport
  14. scale — in music
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. staff — employees
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. scale — size or range
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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