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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. chip — to eat
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. track — a path
  8. rule — a law
  9. row — to paddle
  10. track — a song
  11. rule — government
  12. spell — magic
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. spell — letters
  15. dip — to sink
  16. chip — for betting
  17. track — to keep track
  18. stem — to come from
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. band — a music group
  22. spell — a short time
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. chip — in a computer

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