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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. stock — goods
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cue — a hint
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. clip — a video
  8. cue — a signal
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stem — to come from
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mark — a grade
  13. stock — shares
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. lie — to recline
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. mark — a trace
  21. shower — rain
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cue — for pool

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