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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: lie · row · kick · field · tear · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. field — a subject
  3. row — to paddle
  4. field — farmland
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. row — a line
  8. lie — to recline
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. field — for sport
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. kick — in football
  18. lie — an untruth

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