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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 · squash · pop · hand · roll · track · row · kick

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. row — a line
  3. hand — help
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a list
  6. track — to keep track
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stem — to come from
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. hand — in cards
  19. squash — to crush
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pop — music
  24. squash — the sport

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