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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. kid — child
  9. spring — the season
  10. clip — a video
  11. toast — bread
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. spring — of water
  19. fork — in a road
  20. spring — a coil
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. kid — to tease
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fork — a garden tool

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