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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. stem — to come from
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rule — a law
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. hand — help
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. present — there
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. present — the time now
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. rule — government
  21. present — a gift
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. stem — a stem cell

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