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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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Word bank
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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: clip · pitcher · tear · sharp · bear · stem · rush · hide

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bear — the animal
  5. sharp — clever
  6. stem — to come from
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. clip — for paper
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. clip — to cut
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. bear — the animal
  15. clip — a video
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. rush — hurry
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. pitcher — a jug

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