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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 116 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: fall · stem · pitcher · club · wake · last · tear · mine

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stem — to come from
  8. fall — the season
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. last — final
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. tear — from crying
  13. club — for dancing
  14. last — finally
  15. club — a group
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. club — for golf
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. last — to go on
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. mine — for digging

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