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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. object — to protest
  3. bound — certain
  4. clip — to cut
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mate — a partner
  11. object — an aim
  12. shower — rain
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — to breed
  19. clip — for paper
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rock — music
  22. shower — to wash
  23. object — a thing
  24. clip — a video

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