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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. tube — the underground
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. pop — to visit
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rock — a stone
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. pop — soda
  20. tube — a container
  21. pop — music
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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