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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: cap · plane · cue · toast · stem · spring · arm · clip

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cap — of ice
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. stem — to come from
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cap — a lid
  9. plane — a tool
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cue — a hint
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. spring — the season
  14. cue — for pool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cue — a signal
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. clip — a video
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. spring — of water

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