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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: bulb · kid · stem · cold · temple · tear · season · arm

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. tear — from crying
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. season — in sport
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. cold — an illness
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bulb — for light
  13. season — of the year
  14. tear — to rip
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cold — not warm
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. kid — child
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bulb — for light
  21. stem — to come from
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. kid — to tease

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