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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: track · rest · pound · bear · bulb · spell · tear · stem

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. spell — letters
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rest — a break
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bear — the animal
  13. spell — magic
  14. stem — to come from
  15. rest — what's left
  16. track — a path
  17. rest — what's left
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pound — a weight
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pound — for dogs

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