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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — to cut
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. tear — from crying
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. clip — a video
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stem — to come from
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rest — a break
  16. spring — of water
  17. rest — what's left
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spring — the season
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. safe — out of danger

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