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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cue — a hint
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cue — a signal
  7. file — a tool
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. spell — letters
  10. degree — temperature
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spell — a short time
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. file — a document
  15. degree — from a university
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — to come from
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cue — for pool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. spell — magic
  23. tear — to rip
  24. hide — animal skin

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