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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. ground — the earth
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. march — music
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. ground — crushed
  9. march — the month
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — music
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. march — the month
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ground — a position
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. clip — a video
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. fan — to cool the air

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