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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. cold — not warm
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fall — the season
  9. row — a line
  10. fall — to drop
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stem — to come from
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — a measure
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. row — to paddle

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