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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — to come down
  3. season — in sport
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. board — a committee
  9. last — final
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. board — to get on
  14. last — to go on
  15. land — ground
  16. season — of the year
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stem — to come from
  19. date — the fruit
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. last — finally
  22. land — a country
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. board — a flat piece

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