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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chair — a leader
  8. craft — boats
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. plane — a tool
  14. tear — to rip
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wound — an injury
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. craft — a skill

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