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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. pop — music
  3. craft — boats
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pop — soda
  6. wound — an injury
  7. shower — to wash
  8. clip — a video
  9. ground — crushed
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. stem — to come from
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. craft — a skill
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. shower — rain
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wound — an injury
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. bore — gave birth

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