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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. can — to be able to
  5. stem — to come from
  6. capital — a city
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. mine — for digging
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bark — to shout
  17. can — a tin
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. tear — from crying
  21. row — to paddle
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. row — a line
  24. hide — to keep secret

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