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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. last — final
  3. deal — to handle
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. swing — in golf
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bore — to drill
  12. last — finally
  13. clip — to cut
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. swing — music
  19. mine — for digging
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. bore — to tire
  24. last — to go on

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