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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 120 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. present — a gift
  3. bat — the animal
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. present — the time now
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. present — there
  10. tear — to rip
  11. branch — a division
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. stem — to come from
  18. tear — from crying
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. bark — of a tree

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