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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. track — to keep track
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. kid — to tease
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. stem — to come from
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. fall — to drop
  17. track — a path
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. track — a song
  21. kid — child
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stem — a stem cell

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