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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tube — the underground
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. rush — hurry
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. tear — to rip
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. tube — a container
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. stand — to bear
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. tear — from crying

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