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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — music
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. clip — a video
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spell — letters
  20. tear — to rip
  21. spell — magic
  22. tear — from crying
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fork — in a road

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