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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. last — final
  6. band — a music group
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. suit — in cards
  10. last — to go on
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. suit — to fit
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. band — a ring
  19. last — finally
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. stem — to come from
  22. suit — clothes
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. band — a rubber band

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