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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: lie · stem · swing · bore · chair · kid · craft · last

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. kid — to tease
  4. craft — boats
  5. last — to go on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. last — final
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. stem — to come from
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. swing — music
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bore — to tire
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. craft — a skill
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. swing — to play on
  20. last — finally
  21. chair — a leader
  22. swing — in golf
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bore — to drill

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