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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: hand · foot · stem · dip · drill · rest · kid · last

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. last — to go on
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. last — final
  7. hand — in cards
  8. foot — a measure
  9. kid — child
  10. rest — what's left
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. rest — what's left
  13. drill — a practice
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. stem — to come from
  16. drill — the tool
  17. hand — help
  18. dip — to sink
  19. rest — a break
  20. last — finally
  21. drill — army training
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. hand — part of the body

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