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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: cell · saw · staff · sharp · stem · season · track · mark

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. track — a path
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. track — a song
  6. staff — employees
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mark — a trace
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cell — in biology
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. staff — a stick
  13. stem — to come from
  14. track — to keep track
  15. cell — a phone
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. saw — the tool
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. staff — employees
  21. sharp — clever
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a grade
  24. stem — a stem cell

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