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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stem · clip · bank · march · hide · tear

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bank — for money
  4. clip — a video
  5. bank — for money
  6. tear — from crying
  7. march — music
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. clip — for paper
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bank — of a river
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — to come from

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