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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bat — the animal
  5. scale — size or range
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. clip — a video
  21. prune — to trim
  22. clip — for paper
  23. scale — in music
  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