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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bound — obliged
  10. spell — magic
  11. bound — certain
  12. spell — letters
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — a container
  15. bound — tied together
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. clip — a video
  24. wax — for sculpting

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