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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. last — to go on
  3. tear — to rip
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. stem — to come from
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. sharp — clever
  9. tear — from crying
  10. clip — for paper
  11. last — final
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. swing — to play on
  15. staff — employees
  16. swing — music
  17. staff — a stick
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. staff — employees
  23. last — finally
  24. mouse — the animal

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