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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: club · stem · field · mouse · dip · bore · fork · tear

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. club — for golf
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. field — for sport
  8. fork — in a road
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. club — for dancing
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. field — farmland
  13. dip — to sink
  14. field — a subject
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stem — to come from
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. tear — to rip
  23. club — a group
  24. tear — from crying

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