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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. last — to go on
  5. bound — certain
  6. clip — for paper
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bound — tied together
  9. track — a song
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. band — a ring
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. clip — to cut
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bound — obliged
  16. last — final
  17. track — a path
  18. last — finally
  19. track — to keep track
  20. stem — to come from
  21. band — a music group
  22. clip — a video
  23. game — a match
  24. stem — of a plant

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