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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lean — to bend
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. swing — music
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. cap — a lid
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. tear — from crying
  14. swing — to play on
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. perch — the fish
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. swing — in golf
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cap — of ice
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lean — thin

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