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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. tear — from crying
  4. present — the time now
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. ground — a position
  9. rock — a stone
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rock — music
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. hand — help
  19. sharp — clever
  20. degree — an amount
  21. tear — from crying
  22. present — a gift
  23. rock — to move gently
  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