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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. row — a line
  4. face — part of the head
  5. charge — a price
  6. face — to confront
  7. stem — to come from
  8. tear — from crying
  9. face — to point toward
  10. snap — to click
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. tear — to rip
  13. club — for golf
  14. row — to paddle
  15. saw — the tool
  16. club — a group
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. charge — in control
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. club — for dancing
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. charge — electricity

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