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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: fall · cold · pass · stem · snap · fine · arm · field

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. field — for sport
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pass — a permit
  6. fine — high quality
  7. field — farmland
  8. fine — all right
  9. field — a subject
  10. stem — to come from
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. snap — to click
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fall — the season
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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