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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 120 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. spring — the season
  3. charge — electricity
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kid — child
  6. tear — to rip
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. tear — from crying
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. charge — a price
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. spring — of water
  13. stem — to come from
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chest — a box
  16. charge — in control
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mate — to breed
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mate — a partner
  22. kid — to tease
  23. mate — a friend
  24. tear — from crying

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