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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. hand — help
  3. march — music
  4. stand — to bear
  5. rash — a series
  6. drill — army training
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. hand — in cards
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. drill — the tool
  14. rash — hasty
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. march — the month
  18. saw — the tool
  19. march — the month
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. saw — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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