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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. season — of the year
  9. rest — a break
  10. tube — the underground
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. sharp — clever
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. season — in sport
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. sharp — with an edge

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