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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 120 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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. ground — a position
  3. swing — to play on
  4. ground — crushed
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. season — in sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stem — to come from
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. swing — in golf
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. clip — a video
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. ground — the earth
  19. swing — music
  20. clip — for paper
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. perch — the fish
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. stem — a stem cell

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