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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: content · track · pop · arm · fall · stem · ruler · cold

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pop — soda
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cold — an illness
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. content — happy
  7. pop — to visit
  8. cold — not warm
  9. track — a path
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. content — the amount
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pop — music
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. track — a song
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. track — to keep track
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. ruler — for measuring

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