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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. file — a tool
  4. bound — certain
  5. stem — to come from
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. shower — rain
  12. bound — tied together
  13. file — a document
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bound — obliged
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mark — a trace
  20. shower — to wash
  21. mark — a grade
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wound — an injury

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