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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mate — to breed
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mate — a partner
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. staff — a stick
  8. clip — for paper
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. clip — a video
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. staff — employees
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. mate — a friend
  15. staff — employees
  16. ball — a great time
  17. tear — from crying
  18. prune — to trim
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stem — to come from
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. ball — a dance
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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