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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stem — to come from
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. row — to paddle
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. present — a gift
  9. rest — what's left
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fall — to drop
  13. row — a line
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. last — to go on
  16. rest — a break
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. tear — from crying
  20. last — finally
  21. rest — what's left
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. present — the time now
  24. last — final

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