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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: fall · root · tube · tear · track · chest · spell · content

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. tube — the underground
  5. track — to keep track
  6. root — the cause
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. fall — to drop
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fall — to drop
  12. content — happy
  13. chest — a box
  14. tear — from crying
  15. track — a song
  16. root — of a plant
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tube — a container
  19. chest — of your body
  20. root — of a word
  21. content — the amount
  22. fall — the season
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. spell — a short time

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