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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. hand — help
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. saw — the tool
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — a practice
  8. last — final
  9. row — to paddle
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — decided
  14. stem — to come from
  15. row — a line
  16. fall — the season
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. last — finally
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. drill — the tool
  22. fall — to drop
  23. firm — steady
  24. fall — to drop

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