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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 116 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stem — to come from
  5. last — finally
  6. kid — child
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. game — a match
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. kid — to tease
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. tear — from crying
  14. current — electric
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. last — final
  19. current — happening now
  20. game — wild animals
  21. current — of water
  22. last — to go on
  23. tear — to rip
  24. game — a kind of play

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