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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. clip — a video
  4. ball — a great time
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wound — an injury
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. ball — a dance
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rest — a break
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wound — an injury
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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