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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cue — a hint
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pit — a hole
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. capital — a city
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pit — in a race
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. capital — money
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cue — for pool
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cue — a signal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fork — to eat with

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