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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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. stem — a stem cell
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — a video
  4. snap — to click
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. ball — a great time
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. game — wild animals
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. staff — employees
  13. ball — a dance
  14. cell — in biology
  15. clip — for paper
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. staff — a stick
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cell — a phone
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. game — a match
  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