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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hand — in cards
  5. tear — from crying
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. hand — help
  9. sharp — clever
  10. land — a country
  11. court — of a king
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. pass — a permit
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. land — to come down
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. land — ground
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. court — of law
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. tear — to rip
  24. court — for sport

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