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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: fall · stem · key · track · wind · tear · pit · pitcher

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. track — a song
  4. key — the most important part
  5. tear — from crying
  6. track — a path
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. key — for a lock
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. key — in music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pit — in a race
  16. track — to keep track
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pit — a hole
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fall — the season
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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