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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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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: chip · bore · tear · wound · stem · track · game · bear

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bear — the animal
  6. track — a song
  7. track — to keep track
  8. tear — from crying
  9. game — wild animals
  10. chip — to eat
  11. track — a path
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tear — to rip
  18. chip — for betting
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bore — to tire
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. bear — the animal
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bore — to drill

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