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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. ground — a position
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. tear — to rip
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. perch — the fish
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. ground — the earth
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. deal — to handle
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. ground — crushed
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. stem — a stem cell

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