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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cap — a hat
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. roll — a cake
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. drill — the tool
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ball — a dance
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pop — soda
  11. craft — boats
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. clip — a video
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. roll — a list
  17. cap — a lid
  18. stem — to come from
  19. drill — army training
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pop — music
  22. craft — a skill
  23. pop — to visit
  24. cap — of ice

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