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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. clip — for paper
  3. firm — steady
  4. net — for catching
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wound — an injury
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. firm — a company
  9. net — in sport
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bank — for money
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bank — for money
  14. cold — not warm
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. clip — a video
  18. firm — decided
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bank — of a river
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. net — after costs
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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