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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. game — a match
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. perch — the fish
  12. chest — of your body
  13. present — a gift
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. present — there
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chest — a box

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