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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cold — an illness
  4. clip — to cut
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. clip — a video
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pit — a hole
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. pit — in a race

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