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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: bear · content · mug · stem · pitch · clip · march · straw

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bear — the animal
  6. content — the amount
  7. march — the month
  8. content — happy
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. mug — a cup
  12. clip — to cut
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pitch — completely
  15. clip — a video
  16. bear — the animal
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. stem — to come from
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mug — a face
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mug — to rob

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