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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. wind — moving air
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. lean — to bend
  5. clip — to cut
  6. craft — boats
  7. ground — crushed
  8. craft — a skill
  9. clip — a video
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — thin
  12. band — a ring
  13. stem — to come from
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. band — a music group
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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