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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. tear — from crying
  3. sharp — clever
  4. file — a tool
  5. stem — to come from
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. tear — to rip
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cap — a hat
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. file — a document
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. capital — money
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cap — of ice
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. root — the cause
  23. cap — a lid
  24. stem — of a plant

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