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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bank — for money
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. bank — of a river
  5. hand — help
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bank — for money
  8. court — of a king
  9. drill — army training
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. stem — to come from
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pass — a permit
  14. hand — in cards
  15. court — of law
  16. cold — not warm
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. court — for sport
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cold — the Cold War

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