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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 116 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: ruler · bat · wind · stem · last · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stem — to come from
  3. last — to go on
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. last — finally
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bat — the animal
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. last — final
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wind — moving air

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