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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. charge — electricity
  3. band — a ring
  4. charge — in control
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. hand — help
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. last — final
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. stem — to come from
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. clip — a video
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. charge — a price
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. hand — in cards
  21. clip — to cut
  22. last — finally
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. clip — for paper

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