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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. clip — a video
  3. rock — music
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cue — a signal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cue — a hint
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cue — for pool
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wake — a trail
  18. rock — a stone
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — of ice
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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