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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. tear — from crying
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pass — a permit
  7. rock — a stone
  8. file — a document
  9. rock — music
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. file — a line of people
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bound — certain
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bound — tied together
  21. file — a tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bound — obliged
  24. degree — an amount

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