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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kid — child
  5. chip — to eat
  6. last — final
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. last — finally
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — a stone
  16. stem — to come from
  17. chip — for betting
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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