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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — in music
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spring — the season
  10. current — happening now
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spring — a coil
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. key — for a lock
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. current — electric
  20. spring — of water
  21. pass — a permit
  22. current — of water
  23. clip — a video
  24. stem — to come from

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