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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spell — magic
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. bear — the animal
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pass — a permit
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wake — a trail
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. clip — for paper
  23. spell — letters
  24. clip — a video

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