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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: cold · wound · bay · tear · file · mate · foot · stem

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. file — a document
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stem — to come from
  10. mate — a friend
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. file — a tool
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. foot — a measure
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mate — to breed
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mate — a partner

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