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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pass — a permit
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. tube — a container
  5. perch — the fish
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tube — the underground
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. stem — to come from
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. plane — a tool
  24. cold — the Cold War

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