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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. mate — a partner
  4. fine — high quality
  5. clip — a video
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fine — all right
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kid — child
  12. bulb — for light
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. press — to push
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a friend
  17. clip — to cut
  18. season — of the year
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bulb — of a plant

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