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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. object — to protest
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. tear — from crying
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bear — the animal
  12. stem — to come from
  13. object — a thing
  14. current — of water
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mine — for digging
  18. current — electric
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bear — the animal
  21. current — happening now
  22. object — an aim
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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