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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cue — a hint
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. fall — the season
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cue — a signal
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. cold — an illness
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. cue — for pool
  24. fall — to drop

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