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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 120 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 · row · mate · land · mine · track · hide · stem

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. land — to come down
  7. stem — to come from
  8. track — a song
  9. land — ground
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. row — to paddle
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a path
  15. march — the month
  16. mine — for digging
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. mate — to breed
  21. land — a country
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — a partner
  24. row — a line

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