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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. swing — to play on
  3. stem — to come from
  4. clip — to cut
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. clip — for paper
  7. swing — music
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spring — of water
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. firm — decided
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. clip — a video
  17. spring — a coil
  18. firm — a company
  19. firm — steady
  20. swing — in golf
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. tear — from crying
  23. vault — a safe
  24. tear — from crying

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