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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. season — of the year
  3. drill — army training
  4. season — in sport
  5. drill — a practice
  6. roll — a list
  7. rock — music
  8. stem — to come from
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. clip — a video
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a cake
  15. rock — a stone
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. drill — the tool

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