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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. season — in sport
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. clip — a video
  11. squash — to crush
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. clip — to cut
  15. season — of the year
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. rock — a stone
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. tear — from crying
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wake — a trail
  24. season — to add flavour

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