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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for golf
  7. court — of a king
  8. clip — a video
  9. club — for dancing
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. court — of law
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. fine — all right
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. spell — a short time
  17. court — for sport
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stem — to come from
  21. clip — to cut
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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