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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mine — for digging
  7. field — a subject
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. craft — a skill
  10. field — farmland
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. field — for sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. stock — goods
  18. tear — to rip
  19. stock — shares
  20. stem — to come from
  21. tear — from crying
  22. craft — boats
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. mine — an explosive

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