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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bear — the animal
  8. foot — a measure
  9. tear — from crying
  10. prune — to trim
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. tear — from crying
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. prune — to trim
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. cold — an illness
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. deal — to handle

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