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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: track · game · content · stem · ruler · pop · racket · wound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pop — music
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pop — soda
  6. game — a match
  7. track — a path
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. content — happy
  11. game — wild animals
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wound — an injury
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. stem — to come from
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. pop — to visit
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. content — the amount
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. content — videos and posts

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