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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. clip — to cut
  3. perch — the fish
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. season — of the year
  6. clip — a video
  7. file — a document
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. charge — in control
  11. file — a tool
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. charge — a price
  14. season — in sport
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. charge — electricity
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. fork — in a road
  21. file — a line of people
  22. clip — for paper
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. perch — for a bird

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