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

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mark — a grade
  3. fine — all right
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fine — high quality
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. key — in music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. clip — a video
  17. key — the most important part
  18. stem — to come from

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