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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. track — a path
  4. last — final
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. last — to go on
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. track — a song
  11. row — a line
  12. kid — child
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. last — finally
  21. track — to keep track
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pit — in a race
  24. kid — to tease

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