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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. roll — a cake
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. squash — to crush
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. tear — to rip
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. tear — from crying
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. squash — the sport
  13. track — a song
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pass — a permit
  19. track — a path
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. roll — a list
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. track — to keep track

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