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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. file — a tool
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. file — a line of people
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — for sport
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. file — a document
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. tear — to rip

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