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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. hand — help
  4. clip — a video
  5. plane — a tool
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. hand — in cards
  9. lie — to recline
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. spring — of water
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pit — a hole
  14. spring — the season
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. rush — hurry
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. pit — in a race
  24. clip — to cut

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