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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stick · wound · rash · capital · mate · sharp · stem · track

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. track — a song
  3. mate — a partner
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. sharp — clever
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. mate — a friend
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. track — to keep track
  13. rash — a series
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. track — a path
  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