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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. game — a match
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. fine — all right
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. clip — to cut
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wind — moving air
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. rush — hurry
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stem — to come from
  20. fine — high quality
  21. tear — from crying
  22. game — wild animals
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rush — a thrill

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