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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. stem — to come from
  3. field — farmland
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. prune — to trim
  6. court — of law
  7. field — a subject
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. suit — to fit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. suit — in cards
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — for sport
  17. wax — to grow
  18. suit — clothes
  19. court — for sport
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. court — of a king
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wax — for sculpting

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