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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. last — final
  9. cell — a phone
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. stem — to come from
  12. rest — a break
  13. cell — in biology
  14. track — a song
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rest — what's left
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spell — letters
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. track — to keep track
  24. wound — an injury

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