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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. tear — to rip
  4. field — farmland
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mark — a trace
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. capital — money
  10. field — a subject
  11. tear — from crying
  12. kid — child
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — thin
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. capital — a city
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. mark — a grade
  20. kid — to tease
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. field — for sport

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