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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wax — to grow
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. clip — a video
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. stock — goods
  18. degree — an amount
  19. stock — shares
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. clip — for paper
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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