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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. spell — magic
  3. foot — a measure
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. court — of a king
  6. chest — a box
  7. spell — letters
  8. court — of law
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. court — for sport
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — a video
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stem — to come from
  19. hand — in cards
  20. chest — of your body
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spell — a short time

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