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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stem — to come from
  7. ground — a position
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bore — to tire
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pop — music
  14. bore — to drill
  15. ground — the earth
  16. wound — an injury
  17. plane — a tool
  18. spell — magic
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ground — crushed
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pop — soda

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