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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. swing — music
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. swing — to play on
  13. kid — to tease
  14. swing — in golf
  15. lie — to recline
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stem — to come from
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — clever
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. kid — child
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. row — to paddle

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