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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: row · stem · arm · clip · march · plane · current · staff

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stem — to come from
  5. staff — employees
  6. clip — a video
  7. row — a line
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. staff — employees
  12. current — electric
  13. march — the month
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. staff — a stick
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. current — of water
  22. clip — to cut
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. plane — a tool

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