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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 116 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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fork — in a road
  3. snap — to click
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. spring — the season
  9. stem — to come from
  10. sharp — clever
  11. clip — a video
  12. spring — of water
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. spring — a coil
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mark — a grade
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. clip — for paper
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. mark — a trace

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