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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. season — in sport
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. hand — in cards
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. season — of the year
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. drill — army training
  18. wind — moving air

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