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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: tear · snap · degree · race · bore · fan · stem · cue

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — to drill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. tear — from crying
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. snap — to click
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cue — a signal
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. race — the arms race
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. race — a contest
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cue — a hint
  24. race — humankind

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