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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. current — electric
  3. court — of a king
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. ball — a dance
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. track — to keep track
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. current — of water
  11. stock — goods
  12. wake — a trail
  13. current — happening now
  14. cell — a phone
  15. court — of law
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cell — in biology
  20. track — a song
  21. ball — a great time
  22. court — for sport
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. track — a path

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