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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. present — a gift
  6. root — of a plant
  7. present — the time now
  8. plane — a tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. present — there
  11. root — of a word
  12. stem — to come from
  13. march — music
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. march — the month
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. march — the month
  20. root — the cause
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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