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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. sharp — clever
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wound — an injury
  7. club — a group
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. clip — a video
  11. spring — the season
  12. club — for golf
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. spring — of water
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stem — to come from
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. stand — to bear
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. clip — for paper
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. spring — a coil

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