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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spell — a short time
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. scale — in music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. spell — magic
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. hand — in cards
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. lie — to recline
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. tear — to rip
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cold — not warm
  23. scale — size or range
  24. spell — letters

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