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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. band — a ring
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. clip — a video
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. clip — to cut
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wind — moving air
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. clip — for paper
  20. press — to push
  21. band — a music group
  22. stem — to come from
  23. press — a publisher
  24. arm — part of the body

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