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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. stem — to come from
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. clip — to cut
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. mine — for digging
  14. last — final
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. clip — a video
  24. mine — an explosive

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