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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 120 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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. game — a match
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. fall — to drop
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fall — the season
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. hand — help
  16. game — wild animals
  17. stand — to bear
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. mine — for digging

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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