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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. fall — the season
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. mine — for digging
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. dip — to sink
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. fall — to drop
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. perch — the fish
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fall — to drop
  17. clip — a video
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. saw — the tool
  21. stem — to come from
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. clip — to cut
  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