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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. cell — a phone
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. last — final
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. chair — a leader
  20. last — finally
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. last — to go on
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. fork — in a road

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