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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 116 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. row — a line
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cold — not warm
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. band — a ring
  10. tear — from crying
  11. band — a music group
  12. row — to paddle
  13. rest — what's left
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rest — a break
  21. hand — help
  22. rest — what's left
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. stem — of a plant

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