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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. deal — to handle
  5. root — of a plant
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. root — of a word
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rash — a series
  14. clip — a video
  15. root — the cause
  16. season — in sport
  17. rush — hurry
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. season — of the year
  21. tear — from crying
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stem — to come from

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