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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. rule — a law
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. ground — a position
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. tear — to rip
  9. content — the amount
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rule — government
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. foot — a measure
  14. content — happy
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  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