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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cold — an illness
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. clip — for paper
  7. face — to confront
  8. stem — to come from
  9. tear — from crying
  10. face — to point toward
  11. clip — to cut
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. clip — a video
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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