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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. track — a song
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. spell — magic
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. track — to keep track
  8. key — the most important part
  9. season — of the year
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. season — in sport
  13. spell — letters
  14. track — a path
  15. stem — to come from
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. key — in music
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. key — for a lock
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spell — a short time
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — with an edge

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