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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fall — the season
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. hand — in cards
  8. root — the cause
  9. clip — a video
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hand — help
  17. stem — to come from
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. fall — to drop
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — of a plant
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bay — a horse colour

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