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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. track — a song
  3. mark — a grade
  4. last — final
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. last — to go on
  12. bank — for money
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pit — in a race
  15. stem — to come from
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. last — finally
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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