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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bank — for money
  7. bark — to shout
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bank — for money
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tear — to rip
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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