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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. season — of the year
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. season — in sport
  6. shower — to wash
  7. track — a path
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. track — to keep track
  10. stem — to come from
  11. last — final
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — a division
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. last — to go on
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. last — finally
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. stem — a stem cell

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