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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. tear — to rip
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. ball — a dance
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spell — magic
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. hand — help
  11. spell — a short time
  12. kick — in football
  13. spell — letters
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. ball — a great time
  21. hand — in cards
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. tear — from crying

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