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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. cap — a hat
  4. track — a path
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bark — to shout
  11. track — a song
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bat — the animal
  14. tube — a container
  15. tear — from crying
  16. track — to keep track
  17. press — a publisher
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. stem — to come from
  21. press — to push
  22. cap — of ice
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tube — in a tire

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