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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tear — from crying
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hand — help
  17. lean — thin
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. tear — to rip
  20. rash — hasty
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lean — to bend
  24. stem — to come from

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