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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. last — final
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spring — a coil
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pass — a permit
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. stand — to bear
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. spring — the season
  19. last — finally
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. spring — of water
  22. clip — a video
  23. last — to go on
  24. leaves — of a tree

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