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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. clip — to cut
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. mug — a face
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stock — goods
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mug — a cup
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. degree — an amount
  17. stock — shares
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cell — a phone
  22. clip — a video
  23. mug — to rob
  24. stem — a stem cell

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