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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fork — in a road
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stem — to come from
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chest — a box
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. chest — of your body
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. tear — to rip

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