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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. mine — for digging
  4. present — there
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. tear — from crying
  7. present — the time now
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. sharp — clever
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. present — a gift
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cell — a phone
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mine — an explosive

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