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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: land · stick · cold · craft · tear · wind · rash · stem

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. craft — a skill
  9. land — to come down
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. land — ground
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. rash — hasty
  14. cold — not warm
  15. land — a country
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. craft — boats
  19. cold — an illness
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rash — a series
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. cold — the Cold War

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