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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: last · ball · wind · mark · stem · track · perch · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. last — finally
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bear — the animal
  6. track — a path
  7. wind — moving air
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. stem — to come from
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. last — final
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. last — to go on
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a great time
  22. track — a song
  23. bear — the animal
  24. mark — a trace

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