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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bear — the animal
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. tear — to rip
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bound — certain
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cap — of ice
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bass — the fish
  18. cap — a lid
  19. bass — low music
  20. bound — obliged
  21. cap — a hat
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bear — the animal

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