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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bank — for money
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fall — to drop
  6. tear — from crying
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fall — the season
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rash — hasty
  16. bank — of a river
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rash — a series
  19. hand — help
  20. bank — for money
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. season — in sport
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. sharp — clever

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