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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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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: chair · cap · stem · pit · mate · degree · tear · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. cap — of ice
  4. pit — in a race
  5. cap — a hat
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cap — a lid
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. degree — an amount
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pit — a hole
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. track — a path
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. track — a song
  17. mate — a friend
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. chair — a leader
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. stem — to come from
  24. mate — to breed

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