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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: lean · rush · track · stem · cap · content · mine · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rush — hurry
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — the amount
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. content — happy
  13. stem — to come from
  14. lean — thin
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. track — a song
  18. mine — for digging
  19. spell — magic
  20. track — a path
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. lean — to bend
  23. cap — a hat
  24. track — to keep track

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