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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. band — a ring
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spell — magic
  7. press — newspapers
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wound — an injury
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. wound — an injury
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bat — the animal
  15. spell — a short time
  16. press — to push
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. tear — from crying
  21. band — a music group
  22. spell — letters
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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