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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: snap · fork · bank · stem · spring · content · court · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. court — for sport
  4. spring — of water
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. court — of law
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. snap — to click
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bank — of a river
  14. fork — in a road
  15. content — happy
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bank — for money
  18. content — the amount
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bank — for money
  21. court — of a king
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. clip — for paper
  24. 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