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

Word bank: snap · drill · hand · tear · stem · hide · pit · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. drill — the tool
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hand — in cards
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. snap — to click
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. tear — to rip
  13. stem — to come from
  14. hand — help
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — army training
  17. pit — a hole
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. pit — in a race

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