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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. mark — a grade
  3. season — of the year
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. band — a ring
  6. clip — for paper
  7. vault — a safe
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. stem — to come from
  11. band — a music group
  12. wax — to grow
  13. clip — a video
  14. land — a country
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. season — in sport
  22. mark — a trace
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. band — a rubber band

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