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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. kick — in football
  6. pitch — completely
  7. band — a music group
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. season — in sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. content — the amount
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. band — a ring
  22. content — happy
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. season — of the year

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