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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. kick — in football
  9. spring — a coil
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. prune — to trim
  19. stem — to come from
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wave — of the sea

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