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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 · hide · field · stem · kick · dip

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. field — farmland
  4. stem — to come from
  5. tear — to rip
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. field — a subject
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. field — for sport
  17. kick — in football
  18. dip — to sink

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