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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  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. object — to protest
  2. drill — the tool
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. club — a group
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. object — a thing
  9. club — for dancing
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. clip — for paper
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. club — for golf
  15. drill — a practice
  16. chip — for betting
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. clip — a video
  19. fork — in a road
  20. object — an aim
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. drill — army training
  23. chip — to eat
  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