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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: wound · stem · cue · tear · perch · cap · swing · field

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. swing — music
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cap — of ice
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. swing — to play on
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. cap — a hat
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wound — an injury
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wound — an injury
  19. perch — the fish
  20. field — a subject
  21. cue — a hint
  22. stem — to come from
  23. swing — in golf
  24. tear — to rip

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