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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. stem — a stem cell
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. march — the month
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. perch — the fish
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rule — government
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. rule — a law
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stem — to come from
  19. land — a country
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. clip — a video
  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