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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. stem — to come from
  4. clip — to cut
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. spring — the season
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. bear — the animal
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. clip — a video
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pass — a permit
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. march — the month
  20. bear — the animal
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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