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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. dip — to sink
  4. fine — high quality
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. fine — all right
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. tear — to rip
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. stand — to bear
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. tear — from crying

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