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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chest — a box
  3. swing — music
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. tear — from crying
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. last — to go on
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. last — final
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. tear — to rip
  23. last — finally
  24. sharp — clever

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