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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. root — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bark — to shout
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stem — to come from
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. prune — to trim
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pass — a permit
  22. root — the cause
  23. kick — in football
  24. root — of a word

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