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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: track · leaves · season · last · shower · root · pitcher · mate

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. root — the cause
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. root — of a plant
  8. track — a path
  9. mate — to breed
  10. root — of a word
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mate — a partner
  13. track — a song
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. last — to go on
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. last — finally
  20. season — in sport
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. season — of the year
  24. last — final

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