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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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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: wound · dip · pop · track · land · stem · rash · mouse

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. track — a path
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. land — ground
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wound — an injury
  6. land — to come down
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. rash — hasty
  10. land — a country
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. pop — soda
  18. track — to keep track
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rash — a series
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wound — an injury
  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