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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. ground — a position
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. clip — for paper
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. clip — a video
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — decided
  15. stem — to come from
  16. ground — crushed
  17. chair — a leader
  18. degree — an amount
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. clip — to cut
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. firm — a company
  23. ground — the earth
  24. stem — of a plant

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