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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. net — in sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — a leader
  5. spring — of water
  6. rush — hurry
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stem — to come from
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bank — for money
  15. kick — in football
  16. bank — of a river
  17. net — for catching
  18. bank — for money
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. spring — the season
  24. net — after costs

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