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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. clip — a video
  3. cap — of ice
  4. clip — for paper
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. stem — to come from
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. cap — a hat
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. spring — the season
  19. saw — the tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. spring — of water
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. chair — a leader
  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