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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: season · cell · clip · cap · stem · roll · calf · last

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. last — finally
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cap — of ice
  5. roll — a list
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. roll — a cake
  10. clip — to cut
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. cell — a phone
  13. last — to go on
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cap — a lid
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. cap — a hat
  19. clip — a video
  20. last — final
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. clip — for paper
  24. calf — a young animal

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