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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · stem · rush · hand · cold · stick · mine · lie

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. hand — help
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. club — a group
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. lie — to recline
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mine — for digging
  11. hand — in cards
  12. club — for golf
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. rush — hurry
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cold — not warm
  20. club — for dancing
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. rush — a thrill

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