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

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pound — a weight
  4. tube — the underground
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. root — of a plant
  7. kid — child
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. root — the cause
  10. sharp — clever
  11. tear — from crying
  12. root — of a word
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. stem — to come from
  17. tube — a container
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. kid — to tease
  24. stem — of a plant

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