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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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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. hand — help
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stem — to come from
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. spell — magic
  9. rash — hasty
  10. content — happy
  11. hand — in cards
  12. spell — a short time
  13. file — a tool
  14. rash — a series
  15. file — a document
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. spell — letters
  18. track — to keep track
  19. content — the amount
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. track — a song
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ruler — for measuring

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