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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pop — music
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. pop — soda
  9. land — a country
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cell — in biology
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wave — with your hand

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