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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. fall — to drop
  3. toast — bread
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stem — to come from
  6. fall — the season
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. clip — to cut
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. pop — to visit
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. game — wild animals
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. clip — a video
  16. game — a match
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pop — music
  20. shower — rain
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. pop — soda
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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