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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. row — to paddle
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hand — in cards
  7. tear — to rip
  8. kid — child
  9. tear — from crying
  10. object — to protest
  11. bass — low music
  12. object — a thing
  13. row — a line
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. kid — to tease
  17. saw — the tool
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. object — an aim
  22. bass — the fish
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bass — the instrument

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