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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. clip — a video
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. plane — a tool
  12. ground — the earth
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. board — to get on
  18. ground — crushed
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. ground — a position
  21. tear — from crying
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. clip — for paper
  24. board — a committee

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