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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. spell — a short time
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spell — magic
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. sharp — clever
  10. cell — in biology
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cell — a phone
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. spell — letters
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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