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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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. clip — for paper
  4. last — to go on
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. last — finally
  8. clip — to cut
  9. squash — the sport
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. cold — an illness
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. clip — a video
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. last — final

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