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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pass — a permit
  6. fall — to drop
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. fall — to drop
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. squash — to crush
  14. game — a match
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. game — wild animals
  17. lie — to recline
  18. fall — the season
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. squash — the sport
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. stem — a stem cell

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