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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spell — letters
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. prune — to trim
  6. spell — a short time
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — of your body
  9. track — a song
  10. track — a path
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stock — shares
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stem — to come from
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fall — the season
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. chest — a box
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. track — to keep track
  23. stock — goods
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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