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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 116 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kick — in football
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. kid — to tease
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cell — a phone
  8. tear — to rip
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. spell — magic
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. spell — letters
  14. scale — in music
  15. spell — a short time
  16. scale — size or range
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. kid — child
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a skill
  22. cell — in biology
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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