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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. spring — a coil
  3. roll — a cake
  4. rest — a break
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. cap — of ice
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pitch — completely
  13. roll — a list
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. spring — of water
  20. cap — a lid
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. cap — a hat
  23. spring — the season
  24. rest — what's left

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