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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. sharp — clever
  8. clip — a video
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. spring — the season
  11. object — an aim
  12. bound — obliged
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — to come from
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. content — the amount
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. spring — a coil
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. pound — a weight
  24. spring — of water

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