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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mine — for digging
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. pit — a hole
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pit — in a race
  13. stem — to come from
  14. clip — for paper
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — a video
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. racket — for tennis

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