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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. mark — a trace
  3. can — a tin
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cold — an illness
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cap — a lid
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. can — to be able to
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a hat
  18. can — a tin
  19. cold — not warm
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cell — in a prison

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