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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. fine — all right
  3. cap — a hat
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cap — of ice
  7. object — to protest
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. stem — to come from
  11. lean — thin
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. object — a thing
  14. land — a country
  15. object — an aim
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. cap — a lid
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — high quality
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. tear — from crying
  23. land — ground
  24. stem — a stem cell

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