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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: tear · track · last · racket · face · stem · cell · key

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cell — in biology
  4. track — to keep track
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. last — to go on
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. cell — a phone
  12. last — final
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. last — finally
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. track — a song
  19. tear — from crying
  20. key — the most important part
  21. tear — to rip
  22. face — part of the head
  23. tear — from crying
  24. racket — for tennis

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