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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: bass · tear · hide · rule · straw · stem

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rule — government
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. tear — to rip
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rule — a law
  16. stem — to come from
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. stem — a stem cell

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