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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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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: hand · stem · bowl · row · tear · wave · kick · hide

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hand — help
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. kick — in football
  17. row — to paddle
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. hand — in cards
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. row — a line

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