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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lean — thin
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. field — for sport
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lean — to bend
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. clip — a video
  24. lie — an untruth

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