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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 124 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bark — to shout
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wind — moving air
  15. saw — the tool
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. saw — the tool
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. tear — to rip
  24. date — the fruit

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