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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: ball · wave · stem · last · season · saw · cold · track

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ball — a dance
  3. track — a path
  4. season — in sport
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. last — to go on
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. ball — a great time
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. season — of the year
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. track — a song
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. cold — not warm
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. track — to keep track

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