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

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wax — to grow
  4. kid — to tease
  5. net — in sport
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. net — after costs
  8. kid — child
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stem — to come from
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. net — for catching
  21. tear — from crying
  22. clip — a video
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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