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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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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: mate · stem · court · row · tube · clip · rush · straw

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. row — a line
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. mate — a friend
  7. row — to paddle
  8. clip — a video
  9. rush — hurry
  10. court — of a king
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. mate — a partner
  15. tube — the underground
  16. court — for sport
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. tube — a container
  23. court — of law
  24. mate — to breed

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