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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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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: bear · chest · stem · lie · wind · snap · bay · track

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. snap — to click
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. lie — to recline
  11. chest — a box
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stem — to come from
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. chest — of your body
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bear — the animal
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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