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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. saw — the tool
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. prune — to trim
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. stem — to come from
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. degree — temperature
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. lie — to recline
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. degree — an amount
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. saw — the tool

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