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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. bound — certain
  7. stem — to come from
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cue — a hint
  10. clip — a video
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cue — a signal
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cue — for pool
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. lean — thin
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. clip — for paper
  24. lean — to rest against

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