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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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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: kid · track · march · wave · cap · stem · spring · arm

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. march — music
  4. track — a song
  5. kid — child
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — to tease
  9. spring — of water
  10. stem — to come from
  11. spring — a coil
  12. track — to keep track
  13. march — the month
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cap — a lid
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. cap — of ice
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. track — a path
  22. spring — the season
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. cap — a hat

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