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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: wound · stem · suit · snap · tear · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. suit — in cards
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. tear — to rip
  9. suit — clothes
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. snap — to click
  15. suit — to fit
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rash — a series
  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