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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. mate — to breed
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. lean — to bend
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — to sink
  8. game — a match
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. field — farmland
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. game — wild animals
  13. hand — help
  14. stem — to come from
  15. mate — a partner
  16. field — a subject
  17. mate — a friend
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. hand — in cards
  21. lean — thin
  22. field — for sport
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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