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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. firm — steady
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cold — an illness
  15. clip — a video
  16. firm — a company
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cold — not warm
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stem — to come from
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wound — an injury
  24. firm — decided

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