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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fine — all right
  12. hand — in cards
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. fine — high quality
  15. bat — the animal
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — to grow
  19. ground — a position
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. stem — to come from
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wax — for sculpting

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