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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pop — soda
  5. season — in sport
  6. key — in music
  7. season — of the year
  8. current — of water
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pop — music
  14. clip — to cut
  15. current — happening now
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pop — to visit
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. current — electric
  22. key — the most important part
  23. clip — a video
  24. bat — for baseball

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