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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. clip — a video
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. row — to paddle
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. stem — to come from
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. squash — the sport
  11. band — a ring
  12. plane — a tool
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. clip — for paper
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. date — the fruit
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. clip — to cut
  23. row — a line
  24. squash — to crush

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