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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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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: stem · bat · saw · kid · roll · game · safe · tear

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. roll — a cake
  9. stem — to come from
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bat — the animal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. roll — a list
  21. tear — to rip
  22. saw — the tool
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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