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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. firm — a company
  6. present — there
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — hasty
  10. present — a gift
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. firm — steady
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. firm — decided
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. present — the time now
  21. clip — a video
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. 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