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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. tear — from crying
  3. row — a line
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. club — for dancing
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. land — ground
  12. club — a group
  13. land — to come down
  14. degree — temperature
  15. tear — to rip
  16. degree — an amount
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. club — for golf
  20. wound — an injury
  21. land — a country
  22. stem — to come from
  23. degree — from a university
  24. hide — to keep secret

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