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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 124 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. row — a line
  3. land — to come down
  4. object — a thing
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. object — to protest
  7. land — a country
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. key — the most important part
  10. clip — for paper
  11. key — in music
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — to point toward
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. land — ground
  20. key — for a lock
  21. face — part of the head
  22. row — to paddle
  23. object — an aim
  24. saw — the tool

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