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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. band — a music group
  3. craft — a skill
  4. vault — a safe
  5. field — farmland
  6. tear — from crying
  7. craft — boats
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. field — a subject
  10. tear — from crying
  11. clip — for paper
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. stem — to come from
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. band — a ring
  16. tear — to rip
  17. clip — to cut
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. mug — to rob
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. field — for sport
  22. mug — a cup
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. clip — a video

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