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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 120 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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. can — to be able to
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. stem — to come from
  5. can — a tin
  6. season — in sport
  7. staff — employees
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. wind — moving air
  10. staff — a stick
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. staff — employees
  20. clip — a video
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. season — of the year
  23. can — a tin
  24. stem — of a plant

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