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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · chair · stem · tear · pop · cold

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pop — to visit
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pop — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cold — not warm
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — the tool
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. tear — to rip
  14. chair — a leader
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pop — soda

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