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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cell — a phone
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. last — finally
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. vault — a safe
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cell — in biology
  15. last — to go on
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. sharp — clever
  20. last — final
  21. stem — to come from
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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