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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 124 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. roll — a cake
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. stem — to come from
  7. spring — the season
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. suit — clothes
  12. suit — to fit
  13. cell — a phone
  14. spring — of water
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. suit — in cards
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. cell — in biology
  19. roll — a list
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wound — an injury
  24. tear — from crying

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