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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 120 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. stem — to come from
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. plane — a tool
  8. cold — not warm
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bore — to drill
  11. face — to confront
  12. bore — to tire
  13. tear — to rip
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — an illness
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. face — part of the head
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. chest — a box

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