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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. rest — what's left
  6. clip — a video
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — a law
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. rest — a break
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. rest — what's left
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rule — government
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spring — the season
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. spring — of water
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. tear — to rip

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