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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. cold — not warm
  5. race — humankind
  6. current — of water
  7. season — in sport
  8. tear — from crying
  9. season — of the year
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stem — to come from
  16. current — electric
  17. race — a contest
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. current — happening now

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