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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: ground · stem · scale · track · pound · fall · rest · clip

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. track — a song
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rest — a break
  5. clip — a video
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — a weight
  9. ground — crushed
  10. scale — size or range
  11. track — to keep track
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. ground — a position
  17. fall — the season
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. track — a path
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. clip — for paper
  23. scale — in music
  24. fall — to drop

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