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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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Word bank
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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rash — a series
  3. pit — a hole
  4. present — the time now
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pit — in a race
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. present — there
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. present — a gift
  21. fork — in a road
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stem — to come from
  24. rash — hasty

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