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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. clip — a video
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bear — the animal
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wake — a trail
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. clip — for paper
  14. race — the arms race
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bound — certain
  21. bat — the animal
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — humankind
  24. bound — obliged

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