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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. rest — what's left
  3. mark — a grade
  4. track — to keep track
  5. file — a line of people
  6. content — the amount
  7. deal — to handle
  8. rest — a break
  9. content — happy
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. clip — to cut
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rest — what's left
  14. clip — a video
  15. track — a song
  16. clip — for paper
  17. file — a document
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. file — a tool
  20. track — a path
  21. mark — a trace
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — a stem cell

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