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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. stem — to come from
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. file — a tool
  9. tear — from crying
  10. file — a document
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pass — a permit
  16. mate — a friend
  17. file — a line of people
  18. mate — a partner
  19. tear — to rip
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rush — hurry
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. mate — to breed

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