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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wake — a trail
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. scale — size or range
  9. saw — the tool
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stem — to come from
  16. wound — an injury
  17. scale — in music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wound — an injury

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