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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wind — moving air
  3. plane — a tool
  4. land — to come down
  5. roll — a cake
  6. clip — to cut
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. land — a country
  9. clip — for paper
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chair — a leader
  13. suit — clothes
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. wind — moving air
  17. land — ground
  18. roll — a list
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. suit — to fit
  21. suit — in cards
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. clip — a video

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