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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 116 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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mate — a friend
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. root — of a plant
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. root — of a word
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stem — to come from
  12. scale — in music
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mate — to breed
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. root — the cause
  20. wind — moving air
  21. lie — to recline
  22. tear — to rip
  23. mate — a partner
  24. stem — a stem cell

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