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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. spring — a coil
  3. saw — the tool
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. spring — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. stem — to come from
  15. fall — the season
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. spring — of water
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. stem — of a plant

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