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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: wind · date · wave · stem · cabinet · squash · foot · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. squash — the sport
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. date — the fruit
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tear — from crying
  8. squash — to crush
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. foot — a measure
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. squash — the vegetable

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