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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stem — to come from
  4. chest — of your body
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. last — finally
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. last — to go on
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. chest — a box
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. rock — music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — a stone

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