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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bound — obliged
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stem — to come from
  6. clip — a video
  7. object — an aim
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bound — certain
  10. wind — moving air
  11. track — a song
  12. track — to keep track
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — a path
  18. rule — a law
  19. season — in sport
  20. object — a thing
  21. rule — government
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. object — to protest
  24. wind — to turn a key

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