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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. mug — a face
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mug — a cup
  7. spell — a short time
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rush — hurry
  10. clip — a video
  11. rule — a law
  12. bear — the animal
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. mug — to rob
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — letters
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. row — to paddle
  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