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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. last — to go on
  4. tear — to rip
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. track — a path
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. tear — from crying
  12. last — final
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — to come from
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. track — a song
  22. last — finally
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. track — to keep track

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