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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. hand — in cards
  3. drill — the tool
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. field — a subject
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. stem — to come from
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. club — for golf
  14. hand — help
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. field — farmland
  17. pass — a permit
  18. bat — the animal
  19. drill — army training
  20. club — for dancing
  21. field — for sport
  22. club — a group
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. tear — to rip

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