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

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. ground — a position
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. last — final
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wake — a trail
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cap — a hat
  11. stem — to come from
  12. kid — child
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rush — hurry
  15. ground — the earth
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cap — a lid
  18. last — finally
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. cap — of ice
  24. last — to go on

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