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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spring · mine · deal · stem · wax · track · file · bear

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a song
  3. file — a tool
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. spring — of water
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wax — to grow
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. file — a document
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. spring — the season
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. track — a path
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bear — the animal
  23. stem — to come from
  24. file — a line of people

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