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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
468
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: cue · file · stem · track · game · straw · wound · pound

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cue — a hint
  8. stem — to come from
  9. pound — a weight
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. track — to keep track
  12. game — wild animals
  13. file — a document
  14. track — a song
  15. file — a line of people
  16. track — a path
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. wound — an injury
  20. file — a tool
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cue — a signal
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cue — for pool

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