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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: stem · rule · ground · shower · field · wound · stick · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ground — a position
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. ground — crushed
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. rule — a law
  12. shower — to wash
  13. ground — the earth
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. track — a song
  22. shower — rain
  23. field — for sport
  24. rule — government

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