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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — decided
  5. cell — a phone
  6. firm — a company
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bear — the animal
  11. lie — to recline
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. kid — child
  16. stem — to come from
  17. kid — to tease
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. date — the fruit
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bear — the animal
  22. shower — rain
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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