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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 116 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. last — finally
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. degree — an amount
  6. clip — to cut
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. spell — magic
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spell — a short time
  12. clip — a video
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — in football
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. last — to go on
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. spell — letters
  24. last — final

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