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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cap — of ice
  5. mark — a grade
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mark — a trace
  8. stock — goods
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. stock — shares
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. land — to come down
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. clip — a video
  24. chest — a box

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