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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 116 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stem — to come from
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bear — the animal
  5. saw — the tool
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bear — the animal
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. dip — to sink
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. game — wild animals

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