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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. stem — to come from
  3. mine — for digging
  4. net — for catching
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. net — in sport
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. last — finally
  16. net — after costs
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. tear — from crying
  19. last — final
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. last — to go on
  22. row — a line
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — a professorship

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