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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: spring · wind · trunk · pass · stem · bore · tear · hide

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pass — a permit
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. bore — to tire
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. spring — a coil
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. spring — the season
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spring — of water
  24. hide — to keep secret

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