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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. game — a match
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. game — wild animals
  6. present — there
  7. present — a gift
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. spell — a short time
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. land — to come down
  16. bass — low music
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. spell — letters
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stem — to come from
  21. land — ground
  22. bass — the fish
  23. land — a country
  24. spell — magic

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