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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 · temple · stem · track · tear · pit · race · rash

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. race — a contest
  3. pit — a hole
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. track — a path
  6. rash — hasty
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. pit — in a race
  10. race — humankind
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. tear — to rip
  17. land — ground
  18. tear — from crying
  19. land — to come down
  20. track — a song
  21. race — the arms race
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. land — a country
  24. rash — a series

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