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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. clip — for paper
  2. cap — a lid
  3. rest — a break
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. rest — what's left
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. clip — to cut
  9. game — a match
  10. stem — to come from
  11. swing — music
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cap — of ice
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bore — to tire
  21. swing — to play on
  22. cap — a hat
  23. clip — a video
  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