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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cue — a hint
  7. craft — boats
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bulb — for light
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. shower — rain
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. craft — a handicraft

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