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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. last — to go on
  5. bat — the animal
  6. track — to keep track
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stem — to come from
  10. fine — high quality
  11. last — finally
  12. fine — all right
  13. last — final
  14. track — a song
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bear — the animal
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. track — a path
  23. bear — the animal
  24. hand — help

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