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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: land · date · wind · stem · chip · cell · track · march

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chip — for betting
  4. march — the month
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. march — music
  8. track — to keep track
  9. stem — to come from
  10. march — the month
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. land — to come down
  13. track — a path
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chip — to eat
  17. land — a country
  18. cell — in biology
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. land — ground
  23. track — a song
  24. stem — a stem cell

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