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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: deal · rule · stem · bat · mug · straw · chest · tear

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mug — to rob
  6. rule — a law
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mug — a cup
  9. rule — government
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. stem — to come from
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. tear — to rip
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chest — a box
  24. mug — a face

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