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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bear — the animal
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bear — the animal
  6. spell — letters
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spell — a short time
  10. stand — to bear
  11. spell — magic
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mark — a grade
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. mark — a trace
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. patient — a sick person

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