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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stem — to come from
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. bear — the animal
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. last — to go on
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. branch — a division
  20. clip — for paper
  21. last — finally
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. last — final
  24. bear — the animal

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