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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. march — the month
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — to sink
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — a safe
  11. roll — a cake
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. can — a tin
  15. clip — for paper
  16. stem — to come from
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. can — to be able to
  24. dip — a sauce

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