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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 120 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pop — soda
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. firm — steady
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pop — to visit
  7. scale — size or range
  8. pop — music
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — a box
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. prune — to trim
  17. firm — a company
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. chest — of your body
  20. foot — a measure
  21. scale — in music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. firm — decided
  24. tear — from crying

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