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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. squash — the sport
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rest — a break
  5. game — a match
  6. fork — in a road
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. tear — to rip
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. squash — to crush
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stem — to come from
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fork — to eat with

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