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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. tear — to rip
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. staff — a stick
  7. present — there
  8. tear — from crying
  9. degree — an amount
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. staff — employees
  13. present — the time now
  14. degree — from a university
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. degree — temperature
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. staff — employees
  19. cap — a lid
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — of ice
  23. present — a gift
  24. calf — a young animal

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