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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 116 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: march · stem · drill · last · mate · mouse · track · net

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. last — to go on
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. last — final
  5. mate — a friend
  6. net — after costs
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. march — music
  10. drill — a practice
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. track — a song
  13. drill — army training
  14. stem — to come from
  15. mate — a partner
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. last — finally
  19. drill — the tool
  20. march — the month
  21. track — to keep track
  22. march — the month
  23. mate — to breed
  24. stem — of a plant

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