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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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. stem — a stem cell
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. spell — magic
  5. bound — tied together
  6. spell — a short time
  7. can — to be able to
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. clip — a video
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spell — letters
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. can — a tin
  15. bound — obliged
  16. club — for golf
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bound — certain
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. can — a tin
  21. club — a group
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stem — to come from
  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