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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: stem · last · pop · track · land · rule · present · straw

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. rule — government
  4. land — a country
  5. rule — a law
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. land — ground
  9. present — a gift
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. land — to come down
  12. present — the time now
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pop — music
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. last — final
  17. stem — to come from
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. last — to go on
  20. track — to keep track
  21. pop — soda
  22. present — there
  23. pop — to visit
  24. last — finally

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