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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. object — to protest
  6. toast — bread
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. tear — from crying
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. file — a tool
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spell — letters
  17. tear — to rip
  18. object — an aim
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. file — a document
  21. stem — to come from
  22. file — a line of people
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. object — a thing

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