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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: mark · content · wax · stem · track · mine · pass · shower

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wax — to grow
  8. track — to keep track
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mark — a grade
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. shower — rain
  20. pass — a permit
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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