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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. race — the arms race
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. tear — to rip
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. race — a contest
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wax — to grow
  15. squash — to crush
  16. race — humankind
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. stem — to come from
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stem — of a plant

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