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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 120 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. spring — of water
  5. object — an aim
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. swing — to play on
  11. clip — a video
  12. swing — music
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. object — to protest
  16. spring — the season
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. clip — for paper
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. clip — to cut
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bat — the animal

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