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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. face — to confront
  11. cold — an illness
  12. net — after costs
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. face — part of the head
  16. squash — the sport
  17. face — to point toward
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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