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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rash · file · stem · cue · track · last

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cue — for pool
  4. stem — to come from
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. cue — a hint
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cue — a signal
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. file — a document
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. last — to go on
  14. track — a song
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rash — a series
  18. track — a path

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