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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. pop — to visit
  3. lean — to bend
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pop — soda
  6. deal — to handle
  7. drill — the tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fork — in a road
  10. lean — thin
  11. drill — a practice
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. pop — music
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. stem — to come from
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. saw — the tool
  24. clip — a video

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