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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cue — a hint
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. tear — from crying
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cold — an illness
  7. last — finally
  8. craft — a skill
  9. cue — a signal
  10. tear — to rip
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. cue — for pool
  13. craft — boats
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. stem — to come from
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. leaves — of a tree

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