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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pound — a weight
  9. kid — child
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. tube — a container
  12. stem — to come from
  13. band — a music group
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tube — the underground
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. clip — a video
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. perch — the fish
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. clip — to cut
  24. band — a ring

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