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

Word bank: tear · stem · track · rest · field · cap · mine · temple

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cap — a lid
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cap — of ice
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stem — to come from
  12. rest — a break
  13. tear — to rip
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. mine — for digging
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cap — a hat
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. track — a song
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. field — a subject
  24. track — to keep track

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