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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mark — a grade
  7. game — wild animals
  8. can — a tin
  9. mark — a trace
  10. saw — the tool
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fall — to drop
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. tear — to rip
  15. saw — the tool
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. fall — to drop
  18. date — the fruit
  19. stem — to come from
  20. fall — the season
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. can — to be able to
  23. tear — from crying
  24. can — a tin

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