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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. track — a song
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. stock — shares
  7. track — a path
  8. file — a tool
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — thin
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. track — to keep track
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stem — to come from
  18. clip — a video
  19. file — a line of people
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stock — goods
  22. file — a document
  23. lean — to bend
  24. stem — a stem cell

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