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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. tube — the underground
  4. race — humankind
  5. clip — a video
  6. tube — a container
  7. stem — to come from
  8. race — the arms race
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bear — the animal
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bear — the animal
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. race — a contest
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. snap — to click
  18. prune — to trim
  19. capital — a city
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. prune — to trim
  23. capital — money
  24. prune — the fruit

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