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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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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: stem · pass · mine · kid · hide · tear · fall · net

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. net — for catching
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. fall — the season
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. fall — to drop
  9. net — after costs
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mine — for digging
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stem — to come from
  18. net — in sport
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pass — a permit
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. mine — belonging to me

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