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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bear — the animal
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — the time now
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. present — there
  11. chest — of your body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bear — the animal
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. pitch — completely
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. tear — to rip
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chest — a box
  24. tear — from crying

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