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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pit — in a race
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wake — a trail
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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