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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. kid — child
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mine — for digging
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. mug — to rob
  16. row — to paddle
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mug — a face

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