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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 116 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. charge — electricity
  5. craft — boats
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. clip — a video
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wind — moving air
  12. charge — in control
  13. bat — the animal
  14. chip — to eat
  15. stem — to come from
  16. clip — for paper
  17. charge — a price
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. chip — for betting
  23. craft — a skill
  24. wax — to grow

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