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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. last — final
  3. firm — steady
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. last — to go on
  6. stem — to come from
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. kid — child
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. hand — in cards
  14. firm — a company
  15. last — finally
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. kid — to tease
  18. hand — help
  19. rash — a series
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. firm — decided
  22. pass — a permit
  23. rash — hasty
  24. band — a ring

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