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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. spell — magic
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. clip — for paper
  7. court — of law
  8. stem — to come from
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. clip — a video
  11. lean — thin
  12. clip — to cut
  13. court — for sport
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. spell — a short time
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. kick — in football
  20. court — of a king
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. key — the most important part
  23. spell — letters
  24. kick — a thrill

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