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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. object — to protest
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. kick — in football
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pop — soda
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pop — to visit
  13. object — an aim
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wound — an injury
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. object — a thing
  22. clip — a video
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pop — music

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