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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rash — a series
  3. spring — the season
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rock — music
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. rash — hasty
  9. spring — of water
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. stem — to come from
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. clip — a video
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rock — a stone
  24. spring — a coil

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