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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 116 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. kick — in football
  6. rule — government
  7. bank — of a river
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. rule — a law
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bank — for money
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ground — a position
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bank — for money
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stem — to come from

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