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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rock — a stone
  3. mate — a partner
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cell — a phone
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. mate — to breed
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. clip — a video
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. rock — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mate — a friend
  24. clip — to cut

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