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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. band — a ring
  3. degree — from a university
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. land — a country
  6. stem — to come from
  7. degree — temperature
  8. band — a music group
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. track — a song
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. track — to keep track
  15. mark — a grade
  16. track — a path
  17. mark — a trace
  18. lean — thin
  19. land — ground
  20. lean — to bend
  21. date — the fruit
  22. land — to come down
  23. degree — an amount
  24. date — on the calendar

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