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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. bass — low music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stem — to come from
  7. toast — bread
  8. rule — a law
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. wind — moving air
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rule — government
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bass — the fish
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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