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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. toast — bread
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spring — the season
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. tear — to rip
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. tear — from crying
  16. spring — a coil
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. stem — to come from
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. cold — an illness
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. spring — of water

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