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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. lie — to recline
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bore — to drill
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. clip — a video
  12. season — of the year
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. season — in sport
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. clip — to cut
  21. plane — a tool
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bore — to tire
  24. mine — for digging

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