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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. race — a contest
  17. hand — help
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. race — humankind
  24. pound — a weight

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