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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. tear — from crying
  11. field — for sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fork — in a road
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. field — a subject
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. field — farmland
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bear — the animal
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bear — the animal

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