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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. pop — music
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pop — soda
  8. hand — help
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pop — to visit
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. hand — in cards
  20. clip — to cut
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. clip — a video

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