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

Word bank: stem · mate · arm · cell · fine · perch · clip · row

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. row — to paddle
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mate — to breed
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. perch — the fish
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. mate — a partner
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. clip — to cut
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stem — to come from
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. fine — high quality
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. fine — all right
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. row — a line
  24. stem — of a plant

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