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

Word bank: plane · present · cold · mate · tear · stem

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mate — a friend
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. present — there
  9. present — the time now
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mate — a partner
  13. present — a gift
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stem — to come from
  17. mate — to breed
  18. 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