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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. fall — the season
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. date — the fruit
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pit — a hole
  11. chest — of your body
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fall — to drop
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. march — the month
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pit — in a race
  20. tear — to rip
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. fall — to drop
  24. straw — dry grass

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