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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stem · wake · capital · mark · pitcher · tube · rule · track

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. track — a song
  4. stem — to come from
  5. track — to keep track
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. track — a path
  13. rule — government
  14. tube — a container
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. mark — a grade
  19. capital — money
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. capital — a city
  23. mark — a trace
  24. wake — a trail

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