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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. swing — to play on
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. last — to go on
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bulb — for light
  10. swing — music
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bulb — for light
  17. last — finally
  18. tear — from crying
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. stem — to come from
  22. swing — in golf
  23. fine — all right
  24. stem — a stem cell

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