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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mug — a face
  4. clip — a video
  5. tear — to rip
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. march — music
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. mug — to rob
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. degree — an amount
  14. clip — for paper
  15. march — the month
  16. degree — from a university
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mug — a cup
  22. tear — from crying
  23. march — the month
  24. tear — from crying

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