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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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. fall — to drop
  4. clip — a video
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. can — a tin
  8. staff — employees
  9. fall — the season
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. net — in sport
  13. staff — employees
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. net — after costs
  17. staff — a stick
  18. fall — to drop
  19. clip — for paper
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. net — for catching
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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