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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mark — a trace
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stem — to come from
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bear — the animal
  12. track — a song
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. track — to keep track
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. swing — in golf
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. mark — a grade
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. track — a path

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