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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. last — final
  4. clip — a video
  5. ground — a position
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. ground — crushed
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bulb — for light
  12. last — to go on
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. last — finally
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. rule — government
  20. ground — the earth
  21. track — a path
  22. rule — a law
  23. bulb — for light
  24. stem — of a plant

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