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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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Word bank
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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: game · stem · clip · stand · mine · spell · present · court

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. present — there
  4. spell — magic
  5. stem — to come from
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — a gift
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. spell — a short time
  14. stand — to bear
  15. mine — for digging
  16. court — for sport
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. court — of a king
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. game — wild animals
  22. spell — letters
  23. game — a match
  24. court — of law

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