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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · chest · spell · hide · stem · chip

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chip — for betting
  3. spell — magic
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spell — letters
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. tear — to rip
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chip — to eat
  16. spell — a short time
  17. chest — a box
  18. hide — animal skin

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