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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 120 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: staff · kid · spell · stem · field · tear · lie · arm

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. tear — to rip
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. field — farmland
  9. staff — employees
  10. stem — to come from
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. kid — child
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. kid — to tease
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. lie — to recline
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. 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