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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. last — to go on
  3. track — a song
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. season — of the year
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. track — a path
  17. season — in sport
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. track — to keep track
  20. last — final
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. last — finally

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