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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. track — a path
  3. spell — letters
  4. ground — crushed
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. spell — a short time
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ground — the earth
  12. spell — magic
  13. track — a song
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. net — in sport
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. spring — the season
  22. ground — a position
  23. track — to keep track
  24. stem — to come from

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