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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cue — a hint
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — to come from
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — a video
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. cue — for pool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cue — a signal
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pit — a hole
  16. kid — child
  17. clip — to cut
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pit — in a race
  20. season — of the year
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. season — in sport
  23. branch — a division
  24. season — to add flavour

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