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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. perch — the fish
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. stem — to come from
  10. clip — to cut
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. firm — decided
  14. tear — to rip
  15. firm — a company
  16. land — to come down
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers
  19. firm — steady
  20. clip — for paper
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. clip — a video
  23. tear — from crying
  24. press — to push

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